The  Indian 
Industrial  School 


CARLISLE 

PENNSYLVANIA 


Its  Origin,  Purposes,  Progress 
and  the  Difficulties 
Surmounted 


By 

0 

Brig.  Gen.  R.  H.  Pratt 

ITS  SUGGESTER  AND  ITS  SUPERINTENDENT  KROM 
SEPTEMBER  1879  TO  JULY  1904. 


Written  for,  Printed  and  Circulated  by  the  Hamilton  Library  Association 
Carlisle,  Pennsylvania. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CARLISLE  INDIAN  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL  LIFE.  FIRST  PARTY  OF  82  SIOUX  AS  THEY  ARRIVED  OCTOBER  6,  1879. 


p 


THE  ENDING  OF  CARLISLE  INDIAN  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL  LIFE.  GRADUATING  CLASS  OF  1904. 

EACH  STUDENT  TRAINED  IN  A CIVILIZED  INDUSTRY  WHICH  WOULD  ENABLE  SELF-SUPPORT  IN  A CIVILIZED  COMMUNITY 


3 7 L 

.PS* 

^ OS-  W\ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/indianindustrial00prat_0 


ORIGIN  OF  THE 


Carlisle  Indian  Industrial  School 

ITS  PROGRESS  AND 
THE  DIFFICULTIES  SURMOUNTED 


SHE  original  idea  leading  to  the  establishment  of  the  Carlisle  Indian 
school  cannot  be  traced  farther  back  than  Adam.  It  is  clear  that 
when  Adam  became  the  father  of  mankind  there  was  then  established 
that  beneficent  principle — the  unity  of  the  human  race — which,  through 
endless  difficulties,  still  struggles  for  supremacy.  It  was  a great  set- 
back that  immediately  followed  when  one  of  Adam’s  sons  killed  the 
other.  Jealousy,  greed  and  misconception  in  the  family  have  led  to 
no  end  of  killing  among  the  sons  of  Adam  from  that  day  to  this.  For 
the  last  two  thousand  years  this  fundamental  truth  that  all  men  are 
brothers  has  had  great  incentive  from  the  divine  living  and  teaching 
of  it  by  the  Son  of  the  Father  of  the  Universe,  and  while  yet  vast  crime 
of  all  sorts  has  been  committed  upon  each  other  among  the  brotherhood, 
there  has  been  a constant  gain  in  its  acceptance  until  in  these  later 
centuries  nations  have  incorporated  it  as  a principal  feature  in  their 
charters.  Foremost  among  these  national  declarations  we  must  place 
our  own.  When,  however,  we  declared  the  platform  on  which  we 
founded  our  right  to  become  a nation  we  were  doing  the  greatest 
violence  to  the  principle  itself  in  our  treatment  of  two  races,  one  alien, 
the  other  native,  and  this  condition  led  to  endless  acrimony  and  vio- 
lence. Such  was  the  abiding  faith  of  the  larger  part  of  our  people 
that  when  those  opposed  determined  to  build  a government  at  variance 
with  the  principle  we  went  to  war,  and  at  the  cost  of  enormous  sacri- 
fice of  blood  and  treasure  settled  it  in  favor  of  the  original  declaration 
by  giving  especially  to  one  race,  but  really  including  both  races,  in 
words,  at  least,  a real  place  in  our  national  family.  This  surely  meant 
for  them  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  educational,  industrial  and 
moral  training  and  development  needed  to  make  them  equal,  and  com- 
petitors for  the  benefits  of  our  American  life. 


This  paper  was  announced  on  the  regular  program  of  the  Hamilton  Library  Association,  but  the  pre- 
sentation was  unavoidably  prevented,  and  it  is  published  now,  as  furnished,  that  there  may  be  no  further 
delay  in  bringing  this  interesting  and  valuable  information  before  the  public. 

[Si 


Carlisle  school  was  clearly  the  product  of  these  conditions.  The 
suggester  and  builder  of  the  school  never  claimed  originality  or  dis- 
covery of  any  sort.  He  did  claim,  apply  and  demand  the  same  oppor- 
tunities and  training  for  the  Indian  youth  of  the  school  that  the  other 
youth  of  the  national  family  enjoyed. 

In  his  earlier  years  the  suggester  never  saw  an  Indian,  but  a deep 
impression  was  made  upon  him  by  the  pathetic  singing  of  an  Indian 
song  by  an  early  and  accomplished  friend,  one  verse  of  which  ran  as 
follows : 


Oh,  why  does  the  white  man  follow  my  path 
Like  the  hound  on  the  tiger’s  track? 

Does  the  dusk  on  my  dark  cheek  waken  his  wrath, 

Does  he  covet  the  bow  at  my  back? 

He  has  rivers  and  seas  where  the  billow  and  breeze 
Bear  riches  for  him  alone, 

And  the  sons  of  the  wood  never  plunge  in  the  flood 
Which  the  white  man  calls  his  own. 

Yoho,  Yoho,  Yoho,  Yoho. 

Go  back,  go  back  on  the  hunter’s  track, 

The  red  man’s  eyes  grow  dim 
To  think  that  the  white  man  would  wrong  the  one 
Who  never  did  harm  to  him. 

Yoho,  Yoho,  Yoho,  Yoho,  Yoho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho. 

Yoho,  Yoho,  Yoho,  Yoho,  Yoho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho. 

This  became  a part  of  the  song  repertoire  of  the  suggester  of  the 
Carlisle  school,  bringing  a picture  of  unfortunate  relations  to  his  mind 
at  every  singing,  on  the  march,  in  the  camp  or  on  lonely  guard, 
throughout  his  military  duties  during  the  four  years  of  Civil  War. 
When,  in  1867,  he  was  called  to  service  in  the  regular  army,  and  sent 
to  the  southwestern  fontier  among  the  Indians,  he  was  to  some  extent 
more  than  his  fellows  sympathetic  and  willing  to  think  of  our  Indians 
as  entitled  to  more  kindly  consideration.  Two  days  after  joining  his 
company  at  Fort  Gibson,  I.  T.,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  In- 
dian scouts,  and  at  once  looked  upon  them  as  men  and  brothers,  lack- 
ing in  attainment  only,  and  that  through  no  fault  of  theirs.  His  conten- 
tion with  his  fellow  officers  and  others  whom  he  met  was  that  the 
Indians  were  entitled  to  a full,  fair  chance  for  development  in  every 
wav,  and  until  they  had  that,  our  people  had  no  right  to  form  adverse 
opinions  of  them,  or  to  condemn  them  as  incorrigibly  savage.  His 
friendship  for  the  Indians  led  to  his  being  assigned  to  the  special  duties 
concerning  them  which  usually  fell  to  the  lot  of  some  particular  officer 
in  every  command  contiguous  to  them.  Experience  with  them  only 
confirmed  his  previous  feelings  and  judgments.  He  trusted  them,  used 
them  in  the  performance  of  most  dangerous  duties,  met  with  them  in 
council  and  was  gradually  accepted  as  their  friend  and  defender  in  the 
locality  where  he  served. 


[6] 


In  the  spring  of  1869  General  Grant  pronounced  his  first  brief  in- 
augural and  in  it  gave  his  conception  of  the  nation’s  duty  to  the  Indians 
in  the  following  words  : 

“The  proper  treatment  of  the  original  occupants  of  this  land — the 
Indians — is  one  deserving  of  the  most  careful  study.  I will  favor  any 
course  towards  them  which  tends  to  their  civilization  and  ultimate 
citizenship.” 

The  officer  at  once  adopted  this  as  his  platform  and  never  in  his 
long  career  cf  dealing  with  the  Indians  did  he  waver  from  it.  He  was 
afterwards  called  upon  in  the  execution  of  his  office  and  orders  to  lead 
and  direct  bodies  of  Indians  enlisted  to  battle  against  their  own  people, 
and  to  hold  many  of  them  as  prisoners  of  war  in  irons,  and  to  deport 
a company  of  seventy-four  of  their  leaders  so  shackled  thousands  of 
miles  from  their  homes  and  families  and  keep  them  in  confinement  for 
three  years.  He  always  and  invariably  tempered  his  actions,  even  in 
this  trying  service,  according  to  General  Grant’s  declared  policy. 
Though  prisoners  of  war  under  his  care  at  old  Fort  Marion,  Saint 
Augustine,  Florida,  in  the  year  1875-8,  there  was  school  for  all  of 
them,  there  was  daily  training  in  industries  to  earn  money  and  to  make 
them  thrifty.  There  was  constant  opportunity  and  encouragement  for 
them  to  meet  multitudes  of  our  own  people  under  kindliest  auspices. 
He  organized  the  younger  men  into  a company,  gave  them  guns,  sent 
the  soldier  guard  away  and  for  two  years  and  nine  months  they  guard- 
ed themselves  and  the  fort  without  committing  a single  breach  against 
the  discipline  established.  The  three  years  of  imprisonment  resulted 
in  English  speaking,  in  the  adoption  of  civilized  dress  and  habits  and 
in  a hungering  on  their  part  for  a career  in  the  larger  life  of  the  nation. 
They  even  petitioned  bodily  to  be  permitted  to  have  their  families  and 
to  remain  away  from  their  tribes  and  live  among  the  whites,  and  this 
petition  was ' submitted  to  the  government  and  denied  by  the  Indian 
bureau.  Such  was  the  effect  upon  them  of  these  influences  that  when 
their  threfe  years  of  imprisonment  ended,  twenty-two  of  the  younger 
men  of  their  own  free  will  asked  to  remain  east  three  years  longer, 
provided  they  could  have  larger  school  and  training  opportunities. 
This  the  department  was  willing  to  permit  but  only  if  it  could  be  ac- 
complished without  cost  to  the  government.  As  soon  as  this  fact  be- 
came known  among  those  having  means  among  our  own  people,  such 
was  their  confidence  in  the  sincerity  of  the  Indians,  that  the};  at  once 
furnished  money  for  the  expenses  of  these  twenty-two  to  remain  east 
* and  have  additional  educational  and  industrial  training.  Prejudice  and 
fear  closed  the  doors  of  quite  a number  of  industrial  and  agricultural 
schools  that  were  appealed  to  until  finally  Hampton  Institute,  Virginia, 
a normal  training  school  for  colored  youth,  opened  its  portals  for 
seventeen,  and  the  other  five  were  provided  for  near  Utica  and  in  Tar- 
rytown  in  New  York  state.  The  conduct  and  earnestness  of  these 
twenty-two  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  the  highest  officials  of  the 
government,  including  the  president.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  officer 
the  number  at  Hampton  was  increased  by  fifty  youth  of  both  sexes 

[7] 


who  were  brought  by  him  and  his  wife  from  their  homes  along  the 
Missouri  river,  including  Fort  Berthold,  Yankton  agencies,  and  the 
agencies  between.  The  quick  improvement  and  the  progress  of  the 
new  recruits  as  well  as  of  the  older  young  men  from  Florida  continued 
to  prove  that  the  Indian,  like  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  the  African,  was 
only  hampered  by  the  circumstances  and  opportunities  of  his  surround- 
ings and  responded  to  his  privileges  as  promptly  and  successfully  as 
either  of  the  others. 

A law  of  congress  was  passed  that  an  officer  of  the  army,  not  above 
the  rank  of  captain,  should  be  detailed  by  the  War  Department  with 
reference  to  Indian  education,  which  law  aimed  to  keep  the  suggester 
of  Carlisle  on  duty  at  Hampton  Institute.  His  experience  there  had 
led  him  to  conclude  it  was  not  the  best  of  help  to  the  Indian  to  unite 
the  two  race  problems ; that  what  the  Indian  needed  was  to  gain 
ability  to  hold  his  own,  and  fellowship  with  the  whites,  and  not  with 
the  negro.  His  mind  wandered  away  to  the  West,  to  the  needs  of 
the  larger  field,  and  he  urged  that  his  presence  at  Hampton  was  en- 
tirely unnecessary,  that  the  army  officer  already  detailed  there  was 
more  than  able  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  Indian  situation  at  the 
school  for  the  number  then  there  and  any  increase  that  might  be 
thought  best.  He  accordingly  went  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior  first, 
and  then,  on  the  secretary’s  suggestion,  to  the  secretary  of  war,  pro- 
posing that  if  he  were  to  be  kept  in  Indian  school  work  that  he  be 
given  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  young  Indians  at  some 
point  east,  and  be  allowed  to  demonstrate  their  development  according 
to  his  own  ideas.  He  suggested  Carlisle  barracks  as  a suitable  place 
for  this  purpose.  His  proposition  was  at  once  accepted  by  both  secre- 
taries and  after  several  months  of  delay  in  attempting  to  get  a law 
authorizing  such  a school  and  the  use  of  the  barracks,  he  was  finally 
detailed  to  establish  the  school  at  Carlisle  and  directed  to  proceed  to 
the  Indian  agencies  and  get  pupils. 

The  head  of  the  army,  General  Sherman,  had  not  been  friendly 
to  detailing  an  army  officer  for  Indian  educational  duty,  and  had  writ- 
ten that  officer  that  it  was  “old  woman’s  work,”  but  the  officer  had  to 
be  governed  by  the  fact  that  the  president  of  the  United  States  and 
the  secretary  of  war,  the  superiors  of  the  General  of  the  Army,  were 
directing  his  movements.  They  kept  him  in  Washington  interviewing 
members  of  the  house  and  senate  on  Indian  affairs  to  convince  them 
of  the  feasibility  of  his  ideas.  A proposed  act  was  introduced  into 
both  house  and  senate,  which  provided  that  Carlisle,  and  any  other 
vacant  military  post  or  barracks,  could  be  turned  over  by  the  War 
to  the  Interior  Department  for  Indian  school  purposes  and  that  one 
or  more  army  officers  could  be  detailed  to  superintend  each  school  so 
established.  The  passage  of  this  act  was  not  secured  during  the  ses- 
sion of  1878-79  and  did  not  become  a law  until  1882,  but  a very  favor- 
able report  was  made  to  the  house  by  Ex-Governor  Pound  of  Wis- 
consin, who  was  a member  of  the  house  Indian  committee.  Seeing  that 
congress  would  adjourn  without  passing  the  act  the  secretary  of  war 

[8] 


informed  the  officer  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  “turn 
over  Carlisle  barracks  for  an  Indian  school  pending'  the  action  of  con- 
gress on  the  bill,”  but  first  would  submit  the  question  to  General  Han- 
cock, who  commanded  the  department  in  which  Carlisle  barracks  was 
located,  and  then  to  the  General  of  the  Army.  General  Hancock’s  en- 
dorsement was  favorable,  and  stated  that  the  “barracks  would  never 
again  be  required  for  military  purposes,  and  he  knew  of  no  more  favor- 
able place  for  such  an  experiment."  This  being  referred  to  General 
Sherman,  he  endorsed:  “Approved,  providing  both  Indian  boys  and 
girls  are  educated  at  said  school."  The  order  was  then  issued  and  the 
officer  and  his  wife  went  to  make  a parting  call  on  the  General  of  the 
Army.  The  general  received  them  with  compliments  and  talked  pleas- 
antly of  previous  meetings  with  them  under  circumstances  of  great 
danger  from  the  Indians  in  the  West.  His  gracious  reception  dis- 
pelled all  anxiety  on  account  of  his  previous  opposition. 

When  Carlisle  barracks  was  being  used  as  a training  school  for 
cavalry,  the  ministers  of  the  town,  in  1872,  appealed  to  the  War  De- 
partment to  stop  the  Sunday  parades  because  they  brought  many  peo- 
ple to  witness  and  hear  the  band.  At  that  time  General  Sherman  said 
he  would  relieve  their  discontent  by  moving  the  cavalry  school  to 
St.  Louis,  which  he  did,  and  after  that  the  barracks  had  remained  vacant 
except  for  a small  guard  of  an  officer  and  a few  enlisted  men  to  take 
care  of  the  property.  In  discussing  the  matter  General  Sherman  said 
to  the  secretary  of  war : 

“The  first  thing  you  know  after  establishing  your  school  the  people 
of  Carlisle  will  be  petitioning  to  have  some  feature  of  the  Indian  school 
modified,  or  to  have  it  removed.” 

The  secretary  of  war  submitted  this  view  to  the  officer  and  asked 
what  had  better  be  done  about  it.  The  officer  replied  that  a good  way 
would  be  to  forestall  that  by  securing  a petition  from  the  people  to 
have  the  school  established  there.  This  was  approved  by  the  secretary 
and  the  officer  accordingly  started  for  Carlisle.  At  Harrisburg  he  met 
General  Riddle,  who  lived  at  Carlisle,  told  him  his  mission,  and  General 
Riddle  said : 

“You  return  to  Washington  and  I will  see  that  within  two  days 
you  have  a petition  from  practically  everybody  in  Carlisle  asking  for 
the  school.” 

The  petition  came  to  the  war  department  duly  signed  by  all  the 
leading  people  of  the  town.  From  that  time  to  the  close  of  his  career 
of  twenty-five  years  as  superintendent  of  the  school  the  officer  found 
only  the  greatest  friendship  for  his  enterprise  and  for  himself  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town. 

One  of  the  teachers  of  a class  of  Indian  prisoners  in  Florida  was 
a Miss  Mather,  who  before  the  war  had  carried  on  a young  ladies’ 
school  in  the  old  town  of  Saint  Augustine.  She  wrote  that  if  an  oppor- 
tunity offered  she  would  like  to  see  the  Indians  in  their  western  homes. 
When  the  order  was  received  in  Washington  on  the  6th  of  September, 
the  officer  telegraphed  her  in  Florida  that  he  would  leave  on  the  10th 


of  September  for  Dakota  to  bring  in  children  and  asked  her  to  go 
along  to  look  after  the  girls.  She  arrived  in  due  time,  and  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Dakota  with  instructions  to  get  thirty-six  from  Rosebud 
agency,  which  was  then  dominated  by  Chief  Spotted  Tail,  and  thirty- 
six  from  Pine  Ridge  agency,  whose  principal  chief  was  Red  Cloud. 

On  arrival  at  Rosebud  the  officer  found  that  the  agent  had  already 
received  the  order  from  the  Indian  office,  and  at  a council  had  submit- 
ted it  to  the  Indians,  and  they  had  resolved  not  to  send  children.  The 
officer  insisted  that  it  was  proper  he  should  have  a conference  with  the 
Indians  and  himself  present  the  case.  The  chiefs  and  principal  Indians, 
about  forty,  were  summoned  to  the  agency;  and  the  officer,  with  the 
interpreter  and  Miss  Mather,  went  with  them  into  the  council  house. 
He  explained  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  proposed  school  and  urged 
the  Indians  to  withdraw  their  opposition  and  send  their  children.  The 
Indians  sat  in  a circle  and  listened,  but  it  was  plain  to  the  officer  that 
• their  minds  were  against  him.  After  a conference  among  themselves 
Spotted  Tail  answered  for  all.  The  recent  treaty  in  which  they  had 
ceded  the  Black  Hills  country  and  which  prevented  their  hunting  and 
camping  in  that  region  had  greatly  angered  them,  especially  when  they 
found  that  gold  had  been  discovered  there.  Spotted  Tail  began  his 
address  by  saying : 

“The  white  people  are  all  thieves  and  liars,  and  we  refuse  to  send 
our  children,  because  we  do  not  want  them  to  learn  such  things.  The 
government  deceived  us  in  the  Black  Hills  treaty.  The  government 
knew  that  gold  was  there  and  it  took  the  land  from  us  without  giving 
us  its  value,  and  so  the  white  people  get  rich  and  the  Indians  are  cheat- 
ed and  become  poor.  The  government  let  us  keep  this  plains  country 
and  it  agreed  that  the  lines  should  be  away  out,  and  we  should  have  a 
large  district.  Your  men  are  out  there  now  running  the  lines  and  they 
run  the  lines  a long  ways  inside  of  where  we  agreed  they  should  be. 
Some  of  our  people  who  lived  outside  of  these  lines  have  been  com- 
pelled to  move  inside.  The  government  has  always  cheated  us  and  we 
do  not  want  our  children  to  learn  to  do  that  way.” 

He  said  much  more  on  the  same  line  and  his  charges  against  the 
government  were  applauded  by  the  assembled  chiefs  and  the  officer  saw 
that  this  was  the  crucial  moment  of  his  enterprise.  Guided  by  large 
experience,  he  replied: 

“Spotted  Tail,  you  are  a very  distinguished  man.  Your  name  has 
gone  all  over  the  United  States.  It  lias  even  gone  across  the  ocean  to 
other  countries.  You  are  the  head  of  these  people  because  you  have  a 
strong  mind,  but  Spotted  Tail,  you  cannot  read  and  write.  You  sign 
papers  and  you  do  not  know  what  you  sign.  You  know  very  little 
about  the  large  interests  of  your  tribal  property  and  what  is  best  for 
the  people  over  whom  you  are  placed,  simply  because  you  have  no 
education.  If  you  had  been  educated  like  the  whites  you  might  have 
known  there  was  gold  in  the  Black  Hills,  and  how  to  get  it  out;  you 
might  be  there  now  with  all  these  people  directing  them  to  get  the 

[10] 


gold  out  of  the  ground,  but  you  did  not  know  and  so  you  were  at  a dis- 
advantage and  lost  for  your  people  a valuable  possession. 

“You  accuse  my  government  of  deceiving  you.  Bishop  Whipple 
made  the  treaty  and  I am  sure  no  deception  was  practiced  on  you.  I 
am  sure  that  the  treaty  papers  which  you  signed  distinctly  state  that 
the  lines  would  be  run  around  your  present  reservation  just  where 
these  young  men  are  running  them.  If  these  young  men  sitting  here 
had  been  educated  and  knew  as  much  as  the  young  men  who  are  out 
there  running  the  lines  they  might  be  filling  the  places  of  those  young 
men,  getting  $100  to  $200  per  month  for  doing  that  work  for  the  gov- 
ernment, but  because  they  are  uneducated  they  lose  these  chances.  T 
am  your  friend  and  the  friend  of  your  people,  and  am  near  Washington. 
It  might  be  that  something  will  come  up  there  in  the  affairs  of  your 
people  that  it  would  be  best  for  only  you  and  I to  know,  and  that  I 
would  like  to  tell  you  of,  but  I cannot  write  to  you  and  tell  you  of  it 
because  a third  party,  this  interpreter  or  somebody  else,  has  to  be 
called  in  to  read  my  letter  to  you,  so  I have  to  let  it  go.  You  might 
want  me  to  do  something  for  you  in  Washington  and  you  would  like 
to  write  me,  but  do  not  want  anybody  else  to  know  about  it,  but  you 
cannot  tell  me  what  you  want  me  to  do  because  you  cannot  read  and 
write.  In  either  case  neither  of  us  can  be  sure  we  get  exactly  what 
the  other  intended  to  say  because  in  the  interpretation  the  exact  thought 
or  idea  might  not  be  given  as  intended.  You  are  a man  of  large  mind; 
there  are  others  here  who  have  large  minds.  I have  no  doubt  but  if 
you  had  been  properly  trained  as  a young  man  and  had  the  same  op- 
portunities our  people  have  you  might  be  filling  some  high  position  in 
the  land,  but  lacking  in  education  and  experience  in  our  affairs  you  are 
not  able  to  protect  the  interests  of  your  own  people.  You  have  seen 
how  the  white  people  keep  coming  more  and  more.  When  a boy  you 
very  seldom  saw  a white  man  ; now  they  are  covering  the  country  all 
around  you.  There  is  no  more  chance  for  your  people  to  keep  them- 
selves away  from  the  whites.  You  are  compelled  to  meet  them.  Your 
children  will  have  to  live  with  them.  They  will  be  all  about  and  among 
you  in  spite  of  anything  you  can  do,  or  that  can  be  done  for  you  by 
those  interested  in  keeping  you  apart  from  our  people.  Your  own  wel- 
fare while  you  live  and  the  welfare  of  your  children  after  you,  and  all 
your  interests  in  every  way,  demand  that  your  children  should  have 
the  same  education  that  the  white  man  has,  that  they  should  speak  his 
language  and  know  just  how  the  white  man  lives,  be  able  to  meet  him 
face  to  face  and  take  care  of  themselves  and  their  property  without 
the  help  of  either  an  interpreter  or  an  Indian  agent.  Your  children 
can  acquire  these  qualities  by  no  method  that  separates  them  from 
close  contact  with  our  people  and  these  actual  experiences.  I propose 
not  only  to  take  your  children  to  the  school  at  Carlisle,  but  1 shall  send 
them  out  to  work  and  to  live  among  the  white  people,  and  into  the 
white  man’s  home  and  schools  so  that  as  boys  and  girls  they  will  be 
coming  into  the  same  classes  with  white  boys  and  girls  and  will  so 
learn  to  know  each  other,  and  this  will  take  away  their  prejudice  against 


the  whites  and  take  away  the  prejudice  of  the  whites  against  your  people, 
and  it  is  the  only  way  to  remove  such  prejudice. 

“I  am  sure  this  is  a great  turning  point  in  the  history  of  your 
people.  It  is  far  more  important  to  you  than  you  can  possibly  think 
or  understand. 

“Spotted  Tail,  you  have  many  children,  give  me  some  of  them, 
and  let  me  take  them  to  Carlisle  and  teach  them  our  language,  how 
to  read  and  write  and  do  business  as  we  do,  so  that  they  may  come 
back  and  help  you  in  your  position  as  chief  of  this  people. 

“Milk,  you  have  two  children,  let  me  take  them  to  Carlisle  and 
make  them  able  to  be  useful  to  you,  and  useful  to  themselves  and  their 
people  hereafter  by  their  knowledge  of  our  ways  and  our  language. 

“Two  Strike,  you  have  two  boys,  let  me  take  them  to  Carlisle  and 
make  men  of  them. 

“White  Thunder,  you  have  a boy  and  girl,  give  them  to  me  for 
education. 

“I  asked  the  commissioner  to  let  me  go  after  pupils  to  the  Indians 
I knew,  and  who  knew  me,  the  Cheyennes,  Arapahoes,  Kiowas,  Com- 
anches,  Apaches  and  others,  but  the  secretary  wanted  me  to  begin  here 
because  yours  is  the  largest  of  all  the  tribes,  and  he  said  you  should 
have  the  first  chance,  and  if  you  refused,  then  I might  go  and  get  all 
the  children  needed  from  these  other  tribes  who  know  me.  You  had 
better  council  again  about  it,  I will  go  over  to  the  agent’s  house  and 
wait  for  your  answer.” 

The  interpreter,  Miss  Mather  and  I walked  over  and  sat  on  the 
agent’s  porch  for  more  than  an  hour  before  the  council  broke  up. 
When  the  Indians  came  outside  they  stood  for  quite  a while  in  front 
of  the  council  house  talking  and  looking  our  way  ; finally,  Spotted  Tail, 
Two  Strike,  White  Thunder  and  Milk,  the  principal  chiefs  whom  I had 
spoken  to  personally,  came  over  and  sat  down  without  any  demonstra- 
tion. They  kept  talking  to  each  other  in  an  undertone,  and  looked  me 
over  critically.  After  a few  moments  Spotted  Tail  got  up,  came  and 
shook  hands  with  me,  then  with  Miss  Mather  and  the  interpreter,  and 
said  : 

“It  is  all  right.  We  are  going  to  give  you  all  the  children  you 
want.  I am  going  to  send  five,  Milk  will  send  his  boy  and  girl,  Two 
Strike  his  two  boys,  White  Thunder  will  send  his  boy  and  girl,  and  the 
others  are  going  to  send  the  rest.” 

This  part  of  the  beginning  of  the  school  has  always  seemed  about 
the  most  momentous  of  its  history. 

I then  told  them  I would  have  to  go  to  Pine  Ridge  after  a similar 
party,  and  that  I would  be  back  again  in  four  or  five  days,  that  they 
could  make  up  their  minds  just  which  children  they  wanted  to  send 
and  when  I got  back  I would  see  the  children  and  have  them  examined 
bv  the  doctor  to  see  that  they  were  strong  and  healthy,  and  then  make 
up  the  list.  I asked  them  if  there  were  an  Indian  who  had  a spring 
wagon  and  two  good,  stout  ponies  that  could  drive  the  hundred  miles 
from  Rosebud  to  Pine  Ridge  agency  in  one  day,  that  I would  give 


him  $25.00  for  taking  me  to  Pine  Ridge  and  bringing  me  back.  That 
I wanted  to  start  next  morning  at  7 o'clock  and  be  in  Pine  Ridge  at 
night.  They  talked  a little  and  said  an  Indian  named  Cook,  who  was 
going  to  send  a daughter  with  me,  was  the  man.  I asked  them  to  send 
Cook  to  me ; he  reported,  and  we  made  arrangements  and  started  the 
next  morning  at  7 o’clock.  It  was  a silent  journey  as  I could  speak 
no  Sioux,  and  Cook  could  speak  no  English  or  Comanche,  the  only 
Indian  language  of  which  I knew  anything,  and  he  did  not  know  the 
sign  language,  of  which  I had  some  knowledge.  The  ponies  were 
short,  thick  set  and  hardy,  and  I soon  realized  that  the  Indians  had 
made  a good  selection.  Where  the  road  was  favorable  he  drove  his 
ponies  at  high  speed  and  by  2 o’clock  we  had  made  about  half  way. 
We  stopped  to  rest  and  graze  the  ponies  and  eat  our  lunch.  The  road 
was  dim  and  sometimes  no  road,  but  a generally  westerly  direction  was 
maintained  and  I felt  sure  we  were  going  right.  When  night  came  on 
there  was  no  moon,  but  it  was  starlight,  and  without  abating  opeed 
the  Indian  drove  on  and  on.  Towards  10  o’clock  we  saw  in  the  dis- 
tance a light,  but  it  was  a long  time  before  .we  reached  it  and  found  the 
agent’s  office  and  the  agency  clerk  (Mr.  Alder,  for  many  years  and 
now  the  clerk  at  Haskell  Institute,  Lawrence,  Kansas),  busy  trying  to 
keep  up  with  his  work.  Early  the  next  day  he  called  a council  of  the 
Indians  at  which  Red  Cloud,  American  Horse,  Young  Man  Afraid  of 
His  Horses  and  others  of  the  leaders  were  present.  I submitted  the 
wishes  of  the  department  to  them,  and  told  them  what  Spotted  Tail 
and  his  people  were  going  to  do,  and  they  agreed  to  send  some  of 
their  children.  Red  Cloud  had  no  children  of  his  own  young  enough, 
but  said  he  would  send  a grandson.  American  Horse  sent  three.  It 
soon  developed  there  was  an  outside  influence  against . the  children 
being  sent  away,  and  after  two  days  there  I was  only  able  to  get 
eighteen.  I hired  parents  of  the  children  to  haul  the  party  the  two 
hundred  miles  from  Pine  Ridge  to  Rosebud  Landing  on  the  Missouri 
river.  There  were  then  no  railroad  facilities  nearer  than  Yankton, 
Dakota,  a considerable  distance  below  Rosebud  Landing,  and  reached 
by  steamer. 

The  day  before  starting  back  I sent  Cook  with  his  two  horses  to 
ride  half  way  and  wait  for  my  coming  the  next  day,  and  hired  another 
Indian  with  fresh  horses  to  drive  me  that  far,  he  and  Cook  having  an 
understanding  as  to  the  point  we  were  to  meet.  After  seeing  the 
party  off  the  next  morning,  we  started  and  drove  rapidly  until  early  in 
the  afternoon,  when  we  found  Cook  and  lunched  together.  The  In- 
dian went  back  to  Pine  Ridge  and  Cook  and  I drove  through  to  the 
Rosebud  agency  that  night. 

Selecting  children  at  Rosebud  had  gone  on  so  well  that  more  than 
enough  to  cover  the  shortage  at  Pine  Ridge  and  give  the  full  number 
required  from  the  two  agencies  had  been  provided.  The  children  at 
both  agencies  were  submitted  to  an  examination  something  similar  to 
that  for  army  recruits,  a record  of  the  examination  made,  and  fifty-four 
were  accepted  and  enrolled  at  Rosebud.  The  afternoon  after  the  party 


was  completed  there  was  a demonstration,  the  like  of  which  I never 
saw  but  the  once  among  Indians.  It  appeared  to  be  their  custom  when 
stirred  by  any  great  reason  for  joy  that  those  who  were  foremost 
participants  and  causes  of  it  gave  something  of  their  possessions  to  the 
poor,  and  entertained  and  fed  others  of  the  tribe.  More  than  two 
thousand  people  gathered  at  the  agency  and  those  sending  children 
gave  away  scores  of  horses  and  ponies,  many  bolts  of  calico  and  muslin, 
large  quantities  of  groceries,  etc.,  they  had  purchased  at  the  store. 
Many  cooked  food,  which  was  free  to  all.  One  man  occupied  the  arena 
at  a time  and  himself  announced : 

“I  am  sending  my  children,  my  heart  is  glad  and  I give  six  horses.” 

He  had  six  sticks  in  his  hand  and  said : 

“Where  is  there  an  old  woman  who  needs  a horse?” 

Some  tottering  old  woman  would  go  forward  and  take  a stick  and 
it  was  plain  to  be  seen  that  she  felt  happy.  He  would  then  say : 

“Where  is  there  an  old  man  who  has  no  horse?” 

Then  some  old  man  would  go  forward,  and  so  on  until  he  had 
given  away  the  six  sticks  which  represented  horses  that  he  hacf  selected 
which  the  recipients  could  have  by  going  to  his  home  ; each  stick  had  a 
mark  to  indicate  which  horse.  A few  had  brought  horses  with  them  ; 
sitting  on  their  horses  they  held  the  horses  they  were  to  give  away 
with  lariats.  They  announced  that  they  were  sending  son  or  daughter, 
and  “Here  is  a horse  for  an  old  man  or  old  woman,”  and  the  old  man 
or  woman  would  go  forward  and  take  the  horse.  In  every  case,  so  far 
as  I could  see,  the  gifts  were  only  to  the  needy.  All  was  conducted  with 
entire  propriety  and  decorum  and  everybodv  acquiesced  in  the  claim 
of  the  recipient  in  every  case,  and  there  was  on  the  part  of  all  those 
who  received  the  gifts  evidence  of  great  satisfaction.  One  Indian  had 
a daughter  who  was  a belle  in  the  tribe  ; the  father  was  a manly,  hand- 
some fellow  as  he  sat  erect  on  his  bareback  horse  and  proud  of  his 
daughter.  He  had  brought  to  give  away  one  of  the  prettiest  Indian 
ponies  I ever  saw.  I soon  found  that  the  pony  was  also  celebrated. 
Miss  Mather,  then  63  years  of  age,  said: 

“I  am  an  old  woman  and  I have  no  pony.  If  they  will  give  me  that 
pony  1 will  take  it  home  to  Florida  with  me.” 

Spotted  Tail,  who  was  standing  near,  was  told  by  the  interpreter 
what  she  said,  and  he  replied: 

“All  right,  when  he  calls  for  somebody  you  go  forward  and  get  it.” 

So  Miss  Mather  moved  into  the  circle  ready  to  get  the  horse.  The 
man  told  he  was  sending  his  daughter  and  because  he  felt  so  glad  he 
was  giving  this  pony.  Miss  Mather  moved  forward,  but  after  making 
his  speech  the  Indian  pulled  his  pony  up  to  his  side  and  said: 

“Anybody  that  catches  this  pony  can  have  it.”  And  then  slipping 
the  noose  over  its  head  turned  it  loose  and  the  pony  at  once  bounded 
away  through  the  crowd  like  a deer.  Instantly  fifty  or  more  young 
Indians  mounted  their  ponies  and  were  in  pursuit,  and  before  the  affair 
was  over  one  of  them  came  back  leading  the  pony,  greatly  pleased  that 
he  had  gotten  it. 


Having  the  complement  of  seventy-two  authorized  by  the  depart- 
ment at  Pine  Ridge  and  Rosebud,  T also  hired  the  parents  of  the  chil- 
dren at  Rosebud  to  haul  their  children  to  the  landing  to  start  the  fol- 
lowing morning  and  make  the  trip  in  two  days. 

I was  immediately  besieged  by  other  parents  who  wanted  to  send 
children,  and  the  pressure  becoming  great  I did  agree  to  take  several 
others  whom  the  doctor  said  were  all  right.  Many  other  Indians  than 
those  immediately  interested  went  to  the  landing,  so  that  we  had  quite 
a caravan.  After  we  reached  the  river  additional  children  were  urging 
to  go,  both  parents  and  children  anxious  to  have  a part  in  the  move- 
ment. The  steamboat  came,  the  children  were  put  aboard,  but  when  I 
came  to  count  them  I found  that  there  were  eighty-two  instead  of  the 
seventy-eight  I had  accepted.  I hunted  out  those  who  had  not  been 
inspected,  but  so  anxious  were  they  to  go,  and  parents  in  their  desire 
to  send,  and  such  good  material,  as  I judged,  I finally  agreed  to  take 
the  whole  eighty-two. 

On  reaching  Yankton  I secured  two  special  cars  to  take  us  through 
to  Chicago,  and  telegraphed  to  Chicago  for  cars  thence  to  Carlisle. 
Crowds  met  us  at  every  point,  and  when  we  reached  Chicago,  the  pa- 
pers having  published  our  coming,  many  thousands  of  people  were  in 
and  about  the  station  to  see  us,  and  such  was  the  pressure  that  the 
railroad-  authorities  were  compelled  to  run  our  cars  out  in  to  a private 
yard  with  a high  fence  around  it  to  keep  us  from  the  crowd.  Even 
then  scores  of  men  and  boys  jumped  the  fence  and  got  inside  to  see 
the  young  Indians  who  were  going  so  far  from  home  to  school. 

Gettysburg  Junction  is  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  town  of  Carlisle, 
and  nearer  to  the  barracks  than  the  station  in  town,  and  1 arranged 
to  have  the  paj*ty  stop  there.  We  reached  the  Junction  at  i o’clock  in 
the  morning  of  the  6th  of  October,  1879,  and  were  met  by  hundreds 
of  people  waiting  up  at  that  late  hour  to  see  us,  and  they  followed  us 
into  the  school  grounds. 

Hampton  had  kindly  let  me  have  eleven  of  the  young  men  that 
were  with  me  in  Florida  who  spoke  English  and  who  had  learned 
proper  ideas  of  discipline  and  conduct  and  could  give  good  help  at 
the  beginning.  They  at  once  undertook  the  care  of  these  new  boys. 
There  was  no  fence  or  protection  around  the  gounds  and  so  curious 
and  large  was  the  crowd  of  people  daily  that  I telegraphed  the  depart- 
ment and  asked  to  build  a picket  fence  seven  feet  high  to  protect  and 
keep  the  Indians  in  and  the  whites  out,  until  we  could  get  in  shape. 
I purchased  the  material  and  set  the  Florida  young  men  to  work  under 
the  direction  of  a carpenter,  and  with  the  help  of  the  new  boys  we 
soon  had  a fence  around  the  twenty-seven  acres. 

Before  starting  for  Dakota  1 had  sent  two  of  the  Florida  party, 
a Kiowa  named  Etahdleuh,  and  a Cheyenne  named  Okahaton,  to  their 
respective  agencies  to  make  up  parties  of  students  for  Carlisle.  In  a 
week  things  were  in  such  running  order  that  1 could  leave  the  care 
of  the  pupils  in  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Pratt  and  several  helpers  I had  em- 
ployed, among  them  the  principal  teacher,  Miss  Semple,  the  girls’ 

[>5] 


matron,  Miss  Hyde,  and  the  principal  of  the  Sewing  Department,  Mrs. 
Worthington,  and  some  friends  who  had  come  to  Carlisle  to  help,  and 
I went  west  to  Wichita  in  southern  Kansas  with  Miss  Mather,  where 
I had  instructed  the  young  men  to  bring  their  parties  of  students.  I 
had  employed  a former  teacher  among  the  Indians,  Mr.  Standing, 
whose  home  at  that  time  was  near  Lawrence,  Kansas,  to  go  to  the 
Pawnees  and  get  children.  These  three  parties  concentrated  as  ar- 
ranged and  numbered  forty-seven.  Mr.  Standing  accompanied  us  to 
Carlisle  and  became  my  assistant  superintendent,  and  for  over  twenty 
years  served  the  school  with  great  faithfulness. 

The  second  party  reached  Carlisle  in  time  to  open  school  on  the 
i st  of  November,  1879.  Before  starting  for  Dakota  I had  made  requisi- 
tion on  the  Indian  Bureau  for  food,  clothing,  books,  desks  and  material 
to  begin  school.  Nothing  had  arrived  when  I returned  from  Dakota 
and  I again  appealed  to  the  commissioner,  urging  that  the  supplies  be 
forwarded  at  once.  On  my  second  return  with  the  party  from  the 
territory  I found  no  supplies,  and  again  began  my  appeals  and  urgency. 
Among  the  things  I had  requested  was  an  organ,  the  least  necessary  of 
all,  but  that  was  the  first  to  arrive.  Finally  clothing,  desks,  books  and 
food  supplies  came.  All  of  the  children  from  Dakota  reached  Carlisle 
in  their  camp  condition,  with  the  long  hair,  blankets,  leggins,  mocca- 
sins, etc.,  of  their  Indian  life.  During  my  absence  for  the  second  party 
Mrs.  Pratt,  under  my  direction,  hired  a barber  and  had  the  boys’  hair 
cut.  This  was  the  occasion  of  some  loud  lamentations  on  their  part, 
which  lasted  well  into  the  night,  until  Mrs.  Pratt  summoned  the  in- 
terpreter and  told  him  that  the  noise  would  disturb  the  people  of  the 
town  and  that  the  children  must  keep  quiet,  and  they  immediately  com- 
plied. 

I had  obtained  many  practical  ideas  in  regard  to  industrial  training 
during  mv  boyhood  days  and  in  my  experiences  in  Florida,  and  to 
these  I had  added  much  from  being  at  Hampton  a year.  It  was  to  be 
a thoroughly  practical  industrial  school,  so  that  the  industries  taught 
would,  as  far  as  could  be  done  in  a school,  enable  the  young  Indians 
to  go  out  and  work  at  what  they  had  learned.  To  me  it  was  inevitable 
that  eventually  the  Indians  would  have  to  hold  their  own  among  the 
whites  through  practicing  the  accomplishments  of  the  whites  and  un- 
cared for  by  bureau  or  agent.  Practical  journeymen  mechanics  were 
engaged  to  teach  the  trades,  shops  were  established  and  all  the  products 
were  real  articles  to.  be  used  in  the  school  or  sent  to  the  western 
agencies  as  evidence  to  the  Indians  of  what  their  children  were  doing. 
The  school  room  work  was  to  go  on  just  as  it  would  in  any  white 
school.  There  would  be  no  fads  of  any  sort,  and  nothing  was  to  be 
done  in  the  way  of  catering  to  the  pupils  because  they  were  Indian 
children.  We  were  dealing  with  those  who  must  eventually  become 
independent,  useful  American  citizens.  To  properly  develop  them  as 
such  there  was  only  one  way  which  was  to  give  them  the  intelligence 
and  industry  of  citizens.  Universally  consigned  to  an  agricultural  life 
by  the  government’s  allotment  system,  where  and  how  can  the  Indian 


youth  be  better  taught  farming  skill  and  industry  than  on  farms  and 
under  the  tuition  and  pressing  necessities  of  our  best  farmers?  It 
always  seemed  to  me  a very  simple  procedure  and  the  only  way  'that 
promised  success. 

The  school  opened  with  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  pupils  from 
seven  tribes.  For  disciplinary  purposes  the  boys  and  girls  were  or- 
ganized into  companies,  with  officers  among  themselves  to  march  them 
to  and  from  the  school  and  dining  room,  and  who  were  made  respon- 
sible for  their  companies  in  the  dormitories.  To  maintain  discipline 
when  serious  offences  occurred  courts  were  instituted,  composed  of 
the  students  themselves,  and  the  facts  of  the  case  brought  before  them, 
when  they  gave  judgment  of  guilt  and  recommended  punishment  and 
the  superintendent  approved  or  modified.  This  system  was  begun  at 
once  and  continued  throughout  all  the  years,  and  was  without  material 
exception  most  satisfactory.  It  greatly  relieved  the  management  and 
established  in  the  minds  of  the  students  consideration  of  the  principles 
of  right  and  wrong  and  gave  them  experience  in  jury  duty  and  the 
administration  of  justice. 

To  carry  on  industrial  training  in  connection  with  the  school  and 
make  such  divisions  of  time  as  would  utilize  both  systems  in  the  highest 
degree  was  a problem.  After  experimenting  on  short  periods  of  shop 
work  each  forenoon  and  afternoon,  as  I had  learned  at  Hampton,  it 
soon  developed  that  the  best  results  were  not  to  be  had  in  that  way, 
and  a system  of  half-day  work  and  half-dav  school,  with  an  evening 
study  hour  for  all,  was  established,  and  this  proved  so  advantageous 
that  it  was  continued  and  came  to  be  used  in  all  Indian  schools.  Half 
the  students  were  in  school  in  the  forenoon  and  the  other  half  at  work; 
in  the  afternoon  these  were  reversed.  Subsequently,  it  seemed  a better 
plan  to  reverse  the  whole  order  once  a month  so  that  students  who 
were  in  school  in  the  forenoon  one  month  were  in  school  the  afternoon 
the  next  month. 

The  mechanical  work  of  the  school,  even  to  the  erection  of  build- 
ings, was  performed  by  the  students  under  the  direction  of  their  in- 
structors. While  many  excellent  results  were  obtained,  especially  where 
students  who  had  learned  trades  at  Carlisle,  went  out  into  the  world 
to  improve  and  use  them,  there  were  two  drawbacks  to  highest  success 
that  ought  to  be  noted.  One  was  the  fact  that  we  were  unable,  from 
the  very  nature  of  the  case,  to  give  our  students  the  real,  practical, 
competitive  skill  required  for  fully  equipped  journeymen  mechanics. 
One  instructor  had  to  teach  many  apprentices,  whereas  the  old  appren- 
tice system  usually  placed  one  apprentice  under  the  instruction  and 
observation  of  a number  of  journeymen  mechanics,  with  whom  he 
competed  all  day.  Many  apprentices  under  one  instructor  gives  com- 
petitive power  only  among  themselves. 

The  other  feature  is  that  the  bureau  system  hires  the  Indian  stu- 
dent to  return  and  remain  a part  of  his  tribe,  through  sharing  in  tribal 
annuities,  tribal  funds,  tribal  lands,  tribal  associations,  tribal  surround- 
ings, under  the  baneful  influence  of  privileged  traders,  money  sharks 


and  hosts  of  degenerating  schemers  who  fatten  on  specially  authorized 
opportunities  among  the  Indians.  Such  a thing  as  fitting  him  for  and 
then  pushing  him  out  into  the  ordinary  affairs  and  avenues  of  the  in- 
dustrial life  of  the  nation  as  we  do  our  own  youth  forms  no  part  of 
the  bureau’s  schemes.  In  the  tribes  on  the  reservations  the  only  sub- 
stantial employer  of  mechanics  or  labor  of  any  sort  is  the  government, 
through  its  Indian  agent  and  agency  system.  Only  a limited  number 
of  mechanics  and  helpers  are  allowed,  so  that  feature  helps  to  prevent 
material  success.  Where  lands  are  allotted  to  the  Indians  the  allot- 
ments are  usually  contiguous  to  each  other,  which  urges  them  to  con- 
tinue to  live  in  tribal  masses,  and  the  allotting  of  lands  really  amounts 
to  little  more  than  a reservation  reducing  process.  The  original  allot- 
ting theory  was  to  put  the  Indians  on  their  lands  and  require  each  In- 
dian to  farm  his  own  land,  but  the  practice  became  at  once  almost 
universal,  particularly  among  the  less  civilized  Indians,  to  have  the 
agent  lease  the  lands  to  white  men  under  bureau  approval,  collect  the 
rental  and  pay  it  over  to  the  individual  allottee.  This  makes  more 
business  and  work  for  the  management  and  less  for  the  Indian.  The 
result  has  been  that  tribal  disintegration  and  the  individuality  inevitable 
to  real  citizenship  is  scarcely  promoted.  I urged  and  contended  when 
lands  in  severalty  was  under  discussion  that  allotments  should  be  made 
of  alternating  quarter  sections  so  as  to  sandwich  Indians  and  white 
men,  which  would  mix  interests  and  give  the  Indian  a chance  to  see 
and  pattern  after  his  white  neighbor  whichever  way  he  turned. 

Physical  development  in  the  school,  notwithstanding  the  labor 
features,  was  found  to  be  necessary  in  the  very  start,  and  soon  a gym- 
nasium was  established  and  the  students  trained  in  its  use  and  also  in 
outdoor  sports.  The  rude  gymnasium  in  the  old  cavalry  stables  grew 
to  a fine  and  well  equipped  gymnasium,  150x60  feet,  in  which  hundreds 
of  boys  or  girls  could  be  exercising  at  the  same  time.  Calisthenics 
were  introduced  and  great  proficiency  and  fine  order  secured.  Outdoor 
sports,  track  work,  baseball  and  football  were  scientifically  developed 
under  the  most  expert  instruction.  The  football,  baseball  and  track 
teams  were  brought  into  competition  with  the  very  best  organizations 
of  our  colleges  and  universities,  and  soon  came  to  hold  their  own  on 
everv  field.  It  is  not  too  much  to  claim  that  Carlisle’s  football  team  has 
in  all  probability  in  the  past  ten  vcars  played  its  games  under  the 
observation  of  as  many  people  as  any  other  team  in  the  country. 

The  co-operation  of  the  different  churches  and  Sunday  schools  in 
Carlisle  was  sought,  especially  for  those  who  had  come  from  various 
missionary  influences  at  their  homes,  and  this  was  cheerfully  given. 
The  personal  friendships  and  interests  between  the  good  people  of  the 
town  and  the  students  that  grew  from  this  association  increased  every 
year  throughout  the  history  of  the  school  and  was  of  inestimable  value 
to  the  students  and  the  school.  The  Indian  boys  in  the  Sunday  schools 
of  the  town  were  invariably  under  the  care  of  excellent  teachers. 

A Sunday  school  was  established  on  the  school  grounds  for  the 
girls,  small  boys  and  the  larger  boys  who  were  not  sufficiently  advanced 

[18] 


to  profitably  attend  Sunday  schools  with  white  children.  This  was 
carried  on  by  the  teachers  and  other  employes  of  the  school  and  was 
also  most  promotive  in  the  moral  training  of  the  Indian  youth.  After 
about  ten  years  the  Catholic  authorities  began  to  insist  on  having  their 
children  exclusively  under  their  care  for  all  church  purposes,  and  it 
was  so  arranged. 

In  addition  there  was  instituted  in  the  beginning  on  the  school 
grounds,  and  continued  throughout,  a Sunday  afternoon  preaching  ser- 
vice and  Sunday  evening  praise  service,  at  which  students  were  re- 
quired to  be  present.  The  preaching  services  were  conducted  by  the 
different  pastors  of  the  town  or  one  of  the  professors  of  Dickinson 
College.  Dr.  McCauley,  president  of  the  college,  gave  the  first  few 
services  ; after  that  for  several  years  Dr.  Lippincott,  one  of  the  pro- 
fessors, and  then  the  pastors  of  the  town  alternated  with  the  professors 
of  the  college. 

The  interest  of  the  college  authorities  from  the  beginning  and 
throughout  my  twenty-five  years  of  service  as  superintendent  of  the 
Indian  school  was  valuable  and  unswerving.  When  the  education  of 
the  young  Indians  reached  a point  where  they  could  enter  the  prepara- 
tory department  of  the  college,  or  the  college  proper,  some  of  the  best 
pupils  of  the  school  were  entered  and  practically  without  intermission 
thereafter  students  of  the  Indian  school  were  in  attendance  at  the  pre- 
paratory and  college  for  the  last  twenty  years  of  my  supervision. 

A Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  and  King  Daughters  Circle 
were  established  at  an  early  date  at  the  Indian  school  and  the  friendly 
relations  between  these  organizations  and  the  college,  town,  state  and 
national  organizations  were  of  the  most  cordial  and  helpful  nature. 

The  greatest  value  accruing  to  the  Indians  from  having  their  chil- 
dren attend  schools  surrounded  by  the  best  influences  of  our  American 
civilization  is  found  in  the  multitude  of  opportunities  for  bringing  the 
two  races  in  contact  with  each  other  along  lines  that  mean  better  un- 
derstanding and  help  to  both.  The  experience  with  the  prisoners  in 
Florida  had  fully  established  this  fact.  During  the  year  at  Hampton 
this  was  urged  upon  the  management  there,  and  General  Armstrong, 
on  the  officer’s  suggestion,  sent  him  with  an  Indian  to  help  Deacon 
Hyde  of  Lee,  Mass.,  find  homes,  and  the  young  men  who  had  been 
under  his  care  in  Florida  were  placed  as  farm  helpers  in  Berkshire 
County,  Mass.,  during  the  summer  of  1878,  and  Hampton  has  con- 
tinued this  outing  ever  since. 

The  first  summer  at  Carlisle  places  were  found  and  twenty-four 
boys  and  girls  were  sent  out  into  individual  homes  in  the  country  con- 
tiguous to  the  school  to  work  for  pay,  live  in  and  be  treated  as  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  and  to  generally  conform  to  the  habits  and  customs 
of  the  home  life  of  our  best  agricultural  population.  The  families  were 
selected  with  care,  but  ignorance  of  English,  lack  of  previous  training 
and  industry,  and  in  some  cases  the  fears  of  the  people  or  student,  led 
to  many  lapses.  Nearly  half  of  the  young  people  failed  to  stick  to  their 


work  through  the  summer  and  had  to  be  brought  or  were  sent  back 
to  the  school. 

The  following  year,  1881,  one  hundred  and  nine  students  were 
placed  out,  largely  in  Bucks  County,  and  in  the  country  around  Phila- 
delphia. Experience  had  shown  that  it  was  better  to  send  the  children 
far  enough  away  from  the  school  to  make  their  return  a matter  of  some 
difficulty.  The  school's  report  to  the  Indian  office  for  that  year  indi- 
cates that  “the  outing/’  as  it  came  to  be  called,  was  a great  success. 
A number  of  encomiums  from  their  employers  were  printed  in  the 
annual  report  to  the  Indian  office.  It  was  arranged  that  some  of  the 
students  should  remain  out  during  the  winter,  work  for  their  keep 
and  attend  public  schools ; six  girls  and  twenty-three  boys  were  thus 
left  out  for  the  winter  of  '8i  and  ’8 2. 

The  school  had  a total  attendance  during  the  second  year  of  two 
hundred  and  ninety-five,  representing  twenty-four  tribes  and  languages. 

The  report  for  the  third  year  contains  the  following:  ”No  feature 
of  the  work  is  more  productive  of  good  results  than  that  of  temporary 
homes  for  our  students  in  good  families.  In  this  wav  barriers  and 
prejudice  between  the  races  are  removed  and  the  Indian  youth  have 
an  opportunity  to  measure  their  capabilities  with  white  youth.  The 
order  and  system  so  necessary  in  an  institution  retards  rather  than 
develops  self-reliance  and  forethought.  Individuality  is  lost.  They 
grow  into  mechanical  routine.  The  thousand  petty  emergencies  of 
every-day  family  life  they  do  not  have  to  meet.  Placed  in  families 
where  they  have  individual  responsibility,  they  receive  training  that  no 
school  can  give.” 

On  account  of  the  large  number  going  home  that  year  only  eighty- 
nine  were  placed  out ; forty-eight,  however,  were  allowed  to  remain  out 
to  attend  public  school  during  the  following  winter.  Each  patron  hav- 
ing an  Indian  was  required  at  the  close  of  the  year  to  give  a report 
upon  his  or  her  conduct.  The  general  quality  of  these  reports  was 
most  excellent,  and  became  part  of  the  superintendent’s  annual  report 
to  the  Indian  office. 

This  admirable  feature  of  the  school’s  curriculum  continued  to 
grow  year  after  year,  until  the  numbers  placed  out  each  summer  and 
the  amount  of  money  earned  was  remarkable.  In  1900  the  school  had 
twelve  hundred  and  eighteen  pupils  from  seventy-nine  different  tribes  ; 
of  these  eight  hundred  and  ninety-three  had  outing  experience  ; their 
total  earnings  for  the  summer  amounted  to  $27,255.52,  of  which  they 
saved  $15,518.39.  The  total  earnings  of  the  students  for  that  year  and 
the  eleven  previous  years  amounted  to  $226,255.84.  In  1902  nine  hun- 
dred and  twenty-eight  boys  and  girls  were  placed  out  for  summer  work 
and  their  earnings  amounted  to  $31,619.15.  The  school  records  show 
that  they  had  at  the  close  of  the  outing  period  for  that  year  $32>337-79 
saved  and  at  interest,  and  that  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  remained 
out  for  the  winter  attending  public  schools.  In  1903,  the  last  year  this 
officer  made  a report,  there  were  nine  hundred  and  forty-eight  boys 
and  girls  placed  out  and  their  united  earnings  amounted  to  $31,393.02. 


Three  hundred  and  five  remained  out  and  attended  public  school  that 
winter. 

The  limit  of  the  school  room  acquirement  was  fixed  at  about  half 
way  between  the  grammar  and  high  school  grades  and  it  was  1889,  ten 
years  after  the  school  was  established,  before  we  were  able  to  bring  a 
class  to  graduation.  None  of  our  original  students  appeared  in  that 
class  or  any  subsequent  class.  In  the  beginning  we  had  to  fix  a period 
at  which  we  returned  the  pupils  to  their  homes.  Three  years  was  agreed 
upon  and  this  was  conformed  to  until  1887  when  we  secured  a change 
to  five  years.  Experience  showed  that  it  took  about  the  same  average 
time  to  bring  the  Indian  youth  through  the  grades  we  had  established 
that  it  did  the  white  youth  in  the  public  schools,  and  this  was;  accom- 
plished notwithstanding  the  Indian  had  the  apparent  difficulty  of  lan- 
guage to  overcome.  It  was  found  that  language  was  not  a real 
difficulty,  for  the  young  Indian  during  the  first  months  of  learning  to 
read  also  learned  the  English  language.  English  was  early  estab- 
lished as  the  one  medium  of  the  school.  Therefore,  a.  new  pupil  had 
to  learn  it,  which  he  hustled  to  do  in  order  to  be  at  home  among  his> 
fellows.  The  multiplicity  of  tribes  represented,  enabled  a mixing  of 
tribes  in  dormitory  rooms.  The  rooms  held  three  to>  four  each  and  it 
was  arranged  that  no  two  of  the  same  tribe  were  placed  in  the  same 
room.  This  not  only  helped  in  the  acquirement  of  English  but  broke 
up  tribal  and  race  clannishness,  a most  important  victory  in  getting 
the  Indian  toward  real  citizenship.  The  alleged  economy  in  money 
argued  in  favor  of  day  schools  and  boarding  schools  where  all  the 
pupils  are  from  one  tribe  with  large  dormitory  rooms  is  more  than 
lost  in  this  one  item  alone  through  the  cultivation  of  tribal  clannish- 
ness during  education.  In  America  all  of  our  many  alien  white  races 
are  merged  and  origins  lost  and  not  one  of  our  ten  millions  of  negroes 
can  tell  his  tribal  origin  simply  because  all  these  have  been  forgotten 
through  constant  participation  in  American  opportunities.  Segregated 
and  denied  opportunity  of  real  American  association  the  native  In- 
dians remain  tribally  intact  in  a discouraging  equivocal  position  be- 
cause tagged  as  Penobscots  in  Maine,  Mashpees  in  Massachusetts,  Sene- 
cas in  New  York,  etc.,  and  so  far  the  prevailing  design  sems  to  be  to 
keep  Indians  everywhere  encumbered  with  unending  tribal  conditions. 
Certain  it  is  we  can  never  make  the  Indians  real,  useful  American  citi- 
zens by  any  systems  of  education  and  treatment  which  enforce  tribal 
cohesion  and  deny  citizenship  associations. 

The  Indian  Bureau  and  its  reservation  system  is  now  and  always 
has  been  the  guilty  cause  of  their  continued  ignorance  and  undeveloped 
condition.  The  government,  therefore,  owes  to  them  widest  opportunity 
and  it  will  be  small  amends  to. give  them  the  best  chances  for  individual 
contact  with  our  people  and  that  practical  education  and  industrial  de- 
velopment which  alone  is  calculated  to  fit  them  for  the  individual  com 
petitions  of  citizenship. 

We  show  great  vigor  and  indulge  in  vast  expense  to  develop  our 
many  resources,  land,  mining,  transportation,  agriculture,  etc.,  but 


when  it  comes  to  this  red  man  and  the  possibilities  of  his  developed 
ability  to  help  produce  instead  of  consume  our  national  wealth,  we 
weaken  and  give  more  money  to  encourage  the  man  in  manageable 
ignorance  than  we  do  to  develop  him  into  a real  independent  civilized 
useful  man  and  citizen. 

We  seem  to  have  a pride  in  keeping  him  crude  and  rough  that  we 
may  place  that  feature  of  him  on  exhibition.  During  the  last  three 
years  at  every  great  convention  in  Denver,  the  Grand  Army,  the  Elks, 
etc.,  Indians  in  their  native  dress  have  been  brought  from  their  remote 
reservations  and  in  exadurated  paint  and  feathers  made  a distinctive 
parade  feature  and  there  is  no  hesitation  in  officially  favoring  the 
educated  young  Indians  being  prominent  in  these  processions  and 
then  in  officially  calling  public  attention  to  such  educated  Indians  with 
a view  to  disparage  their  education.  That  the  civilization  of  a helpless 
dependent  race  should  wait  upon  and  be  subject  to  such  inanity  is 
wholly  inexplicable. 

The  promise  of  just  as  good  schools  and  just  as  good  training  in 
the  home  school  made  by  agents  and  others  anxious  to  perpetuate 
tribal  conditions  is  impossible  of  realization.  Never  can  the  best 
equipped  and  managed  home  school  at  all  compare  with  the  suitably 
located  and  properly  managed  non-reservation  school  in  power  to  de- 
velop and  influence  to  build  real  citizenship.  Whenever  the  commis- 
sioner of  Indian  affairs  is  an  enemy  of  non-reservation  schools  and 
thus  encourages  resistance  to  them  among  the  reservation  employees 
and  the  Indians,  and  promotes  restricting  regulations  against  pupils 
going  to  the  non-reservation  schools  and  favorable  to  their  remaining 
in  the  home  schools  there  will  soon  eventuate  the  end  to  such  non- 
reservation schools  through  lack  of  pupils,  notwithstanding  the  will 
and  appropriations  of  Congress  to  the  contrary. 

The  allegation  that  the  day  school  and  its  product  lifts  the  Indian 
home  more  rapidly  than  the  non-reservation  school  and  its  product  is 
a myth  confirmed  as  such  by  all  experience.  The  day  school  child 
never  learns  how  to  lift  the  home  because  the  child  itself  is  kept  on 
the  level  with  the  home.  Such  education  makes  no  real  citizens,  but 
does  keep  up  the  long  drawn  out  supply  of  tribal  Indians.  The  only 
Indians  who  become  equal  to  the  duties  and  affairs  of  our  American 
life  are  those  who  go  out  from  the  reservations  and  so  become  trained 
and  experienced  in  these  duties. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  public  influence  exerted  bv  the  Carlisle  school 
through  these  illustrations  of  its  benefits  in  the  presence  of  all  the 
people  and  especially  to  the  legislative  and  executive  officers  of  the 
government  was  found  in  the  rapid  acceptance  of  its  principles  and  the 
building  of  many  other  schools  intended  to  be  patterned  after  it.  Im- 
mediately after  the  school  was  started  the  Indian  Bureau  determined 
that  there  ought  to  be  a like  school  at  Forest  Grove,  Oregon,  for  the 
Pacific  Coast,  and  accordingly  an  army  officer,  Captain  Wilkinson,  was 
detailed  to  organize  and  superintend  it.  The  school  was  afterwards 
removed  to  Chemawa,  near  Salem,  the  capital  of  ( )regon,  and  continued 


to  grow  until  it  is  now  one  of  the  largest  non-reservation  Indian 
schools.  Such  schools  as  Haskell  Institute  in  Kansas,  Genoa  in  Ne- 
braska, Albuquerque  in  New  Mexico,  and  a score  of  others  followed 
on.  Not  in  one  of  these  schools,  however,  did  they  carry  out  with 
any  zeal  the  outing  system  which  was  the  main  and  by  far  the  most 
helpful  feature  at  Carlisle,  and  the  one  great  reason  in  favor  of  non- 
reservation schools.  The  Indian  Bureau  began  early  to  militate  against 
the  non-reservation  schools.  Its  first  efforts  were  largely  exerted  to 
have  new  non-reservation  schools  located  as  near  the  reservation  as 
possible  and  very  many  of  the  later  schools  were  so  placed.  This  feat- 
ure practically  eliminated  the  outing  at  such  schools,  for  it  was  much 
easier  for  the  pupils  to  run  away  from  their  outing  homes  and  go  to 
their  reservations,  and  such  schools  became  scarcely  better  than  reser- 
vation boarding  schools.  The  non-reservation  schools  near  the  In- 
dians also  failed  in  attendance  from  this  condition  and  became  edu- 
cators in  running  away,  so  that  the  non-reservation  effort  was  some- 
what nullified  and  brought  into  disrepute  from  this  source.  However, 
there  was  some  good  in  the  fact  that  all  the  non-reservation  schools 
received  pupils  from  different  tribes,  which  broke  up  tribal  clannishness 
and  hastened  the  acquirement  of  English.  The  barrier' of  language  is 
the  great  wall  between  the  whites  and  the  Indians.  That  broken  down, 
the  Indians  can  get  information  and  instruction  from  everybody  and 
much  more  rapidly  learn  to  take  care  of  themselves  as  citizens.  On 
some  of  the  principal  reservations  the  bureau  increased  the  day  schools 
and  reservation  boarding  schools  to  the  extent  of  caring  for  about  all 
the  youth  on  such  reservations,  so  there  were  few  or  none  to  spare 
for  the  non-reservation  schools.  Then  it  influenced  in  favor  of  the 
home  school  by  enforcing  no  scheme  of  transfers  to  the  non-reserva- 
tion schools  and  thus  compelled  such  schools  to  secure  students  by  in- 
dividually canvassing  the  reservations  in  any  haphazard  way  that  offered 
success. 

About  seven  years  after  Carlisle  was  established  some  mission 
schools,  conducted  in  Indian  languages  and  supported  by  the  govern- 
ment, were  required  by  the  bureau  to  teach  English.  This  'occasioned 
a great  outcry,  especially  from  the  Presbyterian,  Episcopal  and  Catho- 
lic churches,  but  the  department  stood  firm,  and  after  considerable 
wrangling  the  order  was  accepted  and  soon  its  opponents  became  its 
friends. 

An  important  era  in  the  history  of  the  Carlisle  school  was  the 
Chicago  World’s  Fair.  The  superintendent  of  the  school  urged  that 
the  duty  of  the  Indian  Bureau  ought  to  be  exclusively  confined  to 
illustrating  the  educational  and  industrial  progress  of  the  Indian  people, 
and  that  there  should  be  nothing  in  the  nature  of  a Wild  West  show 
or  camp  life  at  government  expense.  His  argument  was  that  Buffalo 
Bill  would  be  there  with  his  Wild  West  show,  which  would  be  ample 
illustration  of  that  feature  of  the  Indians,  and  as  the  bureau  was  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  bringing  about  the  civilization  and  citizenship  of 
the  Indians  it  was  manifestly  out  of  place  for  it  to  degrade  the  public 

[23] 


mind  and  the  Indian  by  illustrating  in  any  way  the  old  Indian  camp 
life.  His  advice  was  rejected  and  the  advice  of  ethnologists  was  adopt- 
ed, who  planned  an  elaborate  Indian  show,  in  which  their  old  Indian 
life  and  habits  were  the  main  features,  and  education  and  development 
in  civilized  pursuits  was  minimized.  The  commissioner  of  Indian 
affairs,  after  having  rejected  the  officer’s  suggestions  and  organizing 
against  him,  insisted  that  he,  the  officer,  should  take  charge  of  the 
Indian  office  exhibit,  which  was  to  be  Indians  from  the  various  tribes 
living  in  their  native  huts,  tepees,  wigwams,  etc.,  dressed  in  their 
original,  native  costumes  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  bead 
work,  pottery,  blankets,  etc.,  of  their  native  life,  with  a school  in  the 
camp.  This  the  officer  respectfully  declined  to  do  and  asked  that  the 
Carlisle  school  be  eliminated  from  any  part  of  the  Indian  office  ex- 
hibit, and  he  would  see  that  Carlisle  was  represented  at  the  exposition 
without  cost  to  the  government.  The  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs 
was  greatly  offended,  and  from  that  to  the  end  of  his  official  career 
the  relations  between  him  and  the  officer  were  much  strained.  The 
officer  then  proposed  to  the  commissioner  that  as  he  was  not  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  bureau's  purposes  he  had  better  be  relieved  and  go  to 
his  regiment.  This  the  commissioner  emphatically  would  not  agree 
to,  asserting  there  was  ample  room  for  both  methods.  The  officer  re- 
plied they  were  building  two  different  systems  directly  opposed  to 
each  other  and  eventually  one  would  kill  the  other,  that  the  commis- 
sioner’s plan  led  to  long  drawn  out  bureau  supervision  and  control 
not  calculated  to  make  independent,  useful  men  and  citizens  of  the 
Indians  and  it  was  impossible  for  Carlisle  under  the  officer  to  work  in 
accord  with  the  bureau’s  plans  and  he  renewed  his  desire  to  quit  the 
Indian  service.  Through  the  commissioner’s  urgency  the  officer  finally 
yielded  and  remained  at  Carlisle  working  against  wind  and  tide,  hope- 
less that  there  would  be  material  citizenship  results.  The  officer  then 
arranged  and  took  three  hundred  and  twenty  of  his  boys,  divided  into 
ten  platoons,  every  boy  of  each  platoon  carrying  emblems  or  products 
of  an  industry  represented  by  that  platoon,  went  to  Chicago  and  took 
part  in  the  opening  ceremonies  parade  in  1892.  A large  banner  was 
carried  by  one  of  the  stalwart  boys  of  the  school  inscribed  “United 
States  Indian  Industrial  School,  Carlisle,  Pa.  Into  Civilization  and 
Citizenship."  The  march  from  the  exposition  grounds  down  to  the 
city,  throughout  all  the  long  parade,  then  back  to  their  place  with  the 
regular  troops  in  Machinery  Hall,  covering  about  twenty-five  miles, 
the  endurance  and  excellence  of  the  marching,  and  all  the  features  pre- 
sented, received  large  public  notice  and  praise.  As  they  passed  the 
reviewing  stand  filled  with  the  governors  of  states,  general  govern- 
ment officials  and  officials  of  the  exposition,  these  arose  en  masse  on 
summons  of  J.  D.  Miles,  one  of  the  exposition  management,  and  gave 
the  school  an  ovation.  All  along  the  parade  there  were  constant  yells, 
“What’s  the  matter  with  Carlisle?”  “She’s  all  right!"  “Who’s  all 
right?”  “Carlisle!” 


04] 


General  Miles,  who  commanded  the  parade,  as  lie  reviewed  the 
divisions  at  the  close,  called  the  officer  to  him,  and  thanking  him  said : 

“Carlisle  is  by  far  the  best  feature  of  the  parade.” 

The  expenses  of  this  movement  were  met  entirely  through  contri- 
butions from  friends  of  the  school. 

The  officer  secured  space  in  the  educational  division  in  the  Liberal 
Arts  Building  as  a very  part  of  the  educational  exhibits  of  the  world, 
and  without  cost  to  the  government  placed  therein  a full  illustration 
from  every  branch  of  the  school,  educational  and  industrial,  and  all 
through  the  exposition  kept  employes  and  an  Indian  to  explain  to 
visitors.  This  exhibit  also  attracted  vast  attention.  The  carriage  made 
by  Indian  boys,  which  was  on  exhibition  together  with  many  articles  of 
industry,  were,  at  the  close  of  the  exposition,  purchased  by  an  English 
superintendent  of  a native  school  in  South  Africa,  and  shipped  there 
to  show  the  Zulu  and  other  youth  what  the  Indian  boys  and  girls  at 
the  Carlisle  school  were  able  to  accomplish. 

The  prejudice  of  the  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs  was  so  strong 
that  although  on  the  grounds  and  directly  invited  to  come  and  see  the 
Carlisle  exhibit  he  refused  and  would  not  even  look  at  it. 

The  following  diploma  was  awarded  by  the  commissioners  and  the 
original  hangs  on  the  walls  of  the  school  building : 

THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 
By  Act  of  Their  Congress  Authorized 
THE  WORLD’S  COLUMBIAN  COMMISSION 
At  the  International  Exposition,  held  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  State  of 
Illinois,  in  the  year  1893,  to  decree  a medal  for  specific  work  which  is 
set  forth  below  over  the  name  of  an  individual  judge  acting  as  an 
examiner,  upon  the  finding  of  a board  of  international  judges,  to 
INDIAN  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL 
Carlisle,  Pennsylvania. 

EXHIBIT:  WORK,  PHOTOGRAPHS  AND  COURSE  OF  STUDY 

—AWARD— 

For  excellence  of  methods,  objects  and  results  as  a part  of  the 
best  plan  for  the  industrial,  intellectual,  patriotic,  social,  moral  and 
spiritual  training  of  the  Indian  to  take  his  place  as  a member  of  civilized 
society;  seen,  first,  in  his  separation  from  savage  surroundings ; second, 
in  wise  and  well  fitted  plans  and  methods  of  theoretical  and  practical 
training  of  boys  and  girls  in  the  several  years  of  school  life,  during 
which  they  learn  the  conditions  of  caring  for  health  and  are  prepared 
for  active  affairs,  in  common  studies  such  as  reading,  writing,  drawing, 
arithmetic,  composition,  geography,  music,  bookkeeping  and  morals, 
and  in  industries  for  girls,  such  as  household  economy,  needlework, 
cutting  of  garments,  and  cooking;  and  for  boys,  farming,  carpentering, 
blacksmithing,  harness  and  wagon  making,  the  making  of  tinware  and 
shoes,  and  printing;  third,  as  seen  in  the  outing  system  by  which  pupils 
are  placed  in  good  families  where  both  boys  and  girls  for  a year  or 


more  become  familiar,  by  observation  and  practice,  with  all  the  customs 
and  amenities  of  American  home  life,  fixing  what  they  have  been  learn- 
ing in  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  school ; fourth,  as  seen  in  the  re- 
sults obtained,  (a)  in  the  outing  system  of  1892,  which  resulted  in  the 
earning  by  four  hundred  and  four  boys  of  $16,797.85,  and  two  hundred 
and  ninety-eight  girls  of  $5,170.15,  or  a total  of  $21,868.90,  all  of  which 
was  placed  to  their  individual  credit,  and  (b)  in  the  useful  and  worthy 
lives  of  the  great  majority  of  those  who  have  returned  to  their  Indian 
homes. 

(Signed)  JOHN  EATON, 

Individual  Judge. 

(Signed)  JOHN  BOYD  THACHER, 

Chairman  Executive  Committee  of  Awards. 

(Signed)  K.  BUENZ, 

Presidental  Departmental  Committee. 
(Signed)  GEO.  R.  DAVIS, 

Director  General. 

(Signed)  T.  W.  PALMER, 

President  World’s  Columbian  Commission. 
(Signed)  JNO.  T.  DICKINSON, 

Secretary  World’s  Columbian  Commission.” 

In  the  spring  of  1893  the  officer  informed  the  students  that  those 
who  would  earn  and  save  the  money  to  pay  their  expenses  and  so  de- 
sired would  be  permitted  to  go  to  Chicago  at  the  close  of  the  summer 
outing.  The  report  for  1894  says: 

“The  most  gratifying  feature  of  our  connection  with  the  World’s 
Fair  was  the  visit  made  in  October  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  of  the 
students  in  a special  train  of  ten  coaches,  leaving  Carlisle  at  midnight 
October  1st,  and  returning  at  midnight  October  7th,  after  a most  valu- 
able and  instructive  stay  of  more  than  four  days  in  Chicago,  during 
which  time  the  services  of  the  band  in  the  different  band  stands,  a 
concert  in  Festival  Hall  by  the  band  and  choir,  and  a daily  parade  and 
drill  of  one  hour  by  a battalion  of  five  companies  of  school  cadets,  were 
accepted  by  the  management  as  earning  daily  entrance  for  the  whole 
number  of  students  to  the  grounds,  and  incidentally  gave  the  school 
and  all  government  Indian  school  work  great  publicity  The  expenses 
of  this  trip  were  paid  by  the  students  themselves  with  their  summer 
earnings,  especially  favorable  rates  being  granted  by  the  Pennsylvania 
railroad  for  the  use  of  a special  train  which  was  run  to  and  from  Chi- 
cago as  a section  of  the  fast  Columbian  express.  I consider  the  outlay 
of  this  trip  a valuable  investment  on  the  part  of  the  students  educa- 
tional! v.  The  event  constituted  a lifetime  memory,  and  is,  so  far  as  I 
know,  the  only  instance  on  record  of  a like  trip  with  Indian  or  any 
other  school.” 

Though  fourteen  vears  have  passed  since  that  expedition  it  re- 
mains in  the  memory  of  those  who  participated  as  among  the  most 
significant  of  their  experiences.  The  opening  ceremonies  parade  and 

[26] 


this  expedition  of  a large  proportion  of  the  school  constitute  the  most 
important  events  of  the  kind  in  its  history. 

In  1892,  we  participated  in  the  Columbian  parade  in  New  York 
City,  where  girls  as  well  as  boys  were  in  the  marching  columns.  The 
school  also  took  part  in  the  Bi-Centennial  parade  in  Philadelphia  in 
1882,  where  we  had  eight  floats  on  hay  wagons  brought  from  Carlisle 
on  which  were  represented  the  treaty  of  William  Penn  and  the  various 
industries  taught  at  the  school,  and  at  the  head  of  the  column  marched 
a company  of  new  pupils  who  had  just  arrived  from  the  West,  together 
with  some  older  Indians  in  their  native  dress.  It  was  estimated  that 
not  far  from  a million  people  lined  Broad  street  as  we  marched  from 
far  towards  the  north  to  well  towards  the  south  end,  about  seven  miles, 
and  back. 

Mrs.  E.  G.  Platt,  at  that  time  a lady  of  sixty-three,  was  an  employe 
of  the  school.  She  had  begun  teaching  Indians  more  than  forty  years 
prior  to  that  and  had  spent  the  greater  part  of  her  life  among  the 
Pawnees.  She  composed  a poem  on  the  occasion,  which  is  worthy  a 
place  here : 


THE  INDIAN  AT  THE  BI-CENTENNIAL. 


He  marched  amid  the  throng  with  stately  tread, 

Like  chieftain  born  with  grace  he  poised  his  head, 
But  scanning  close  that  copper-colored  face, 

No  line  upon  it  could  you  chance  to  trace 
To  prove  what  passions  or  emotions  stirred  his  soul 
As  he  strolled  on  in  time  to  drum  beat’s  roll, 

The  blare  of  trumpets  and  the  cymbals  clang, 

That  out  on  every  side  of  him  in  triumph  rang. 

With  stolid  look  he  went  through  marble  halls 
Met  waving  flags,  ’neath  arches  moved  and  walls. 
And  when  the  wondering  eyes  of  all  that  mighty  host 
Were  fixed  upon  him,  still  self  poised  he  passed. 

But  well  I knew  that  ’neath  that  earthen  look, 

There  shone  a light  like  that  which  Gideon  took 
And  hid  in  pitchers  for  his  mighty  host, 

And  quick  resolved  to  break  the  spell  at  any  cost. 

So  as  with  panting  breath  the  iron  horse 
Bore  us  with  haste  along  our  homeward  course, 

I asked,  “My  Brother,  as  you  passed  along 
With  measured  pace  within  that  surging  throng, 
What  said  your  mind  to  you  talking  within, 

Of  all  you  saw  and  heard  amid  that  mighty  din?” 
For  moments  mute  he  sat,  with  lips  compressed, 

And  hands  pressed  tightly  to  his  heaving  breast, 
Then  with  unwavering  voice  and  steady  eyes 
He  looked  and  said,  “God  made  the  white  man  wise; 
My  fathers  o’er  these  grounds  long  years  ago 


In  pride  and  darkness  strode  with  spear  and  bow— 

Never  to  them  had  God  in  love  revealed 

The  wondrous  wealth  His  hand  had  here  concealed ; 

The  secrets  in  the  hearts  of  all  these  mountains  round 
He  never  told  to  them — how,  from  out  the  ground, 

They  could  make  life  and  wealth  their  hands  to  fill 
They  never  dreamed ; they  only  lived  to  kill. 

The  white  man  came  ; God  gave  him  work  and  thought, 

And  with  these  two  he  all  these  wonders  wrought, 

I see  today  your  fields  and  houses  and  your  flocks. 

Your  walls  and  towns  and  towers  built  from  these  rocks, 

I hear  your  whisper  run  along  the  wires, 

And  borne  on  iron  road  by  horse  that  never  tires 
See  forms  arise  from  the  deep  bowels  of  the  earth 
At  your  command  to  light  your  home  and  warm  your  hearth. 
And  greater  still,  I’ve  seen,  while  passing  by, 

Far  more  in  number  than  the  stars  in  sky, 

Men  and  their  children,  who  with  thought  and  toil 
Have  wrought  their  magic  from  the  rocks  and  soil ; 

And  yet  with  such  glad  smiles  their  faces  shone, 

I thought  they  had  forgot  how  hard  the  work  they’ve  done, 
And  my  mind  spoke  to  me  talking  within, 

As  I walked  there  ’mid  all  the  rush  and  din, 

‘These  lives,  this  wealth,  these  wonders  from  the  soil, 

Are  God’s  good  answer  to  the  white  man’s  toil.’  ” 

There  were  many  other  times  when  the  school  went  as  a body  to 
take  part  in  various  great  public  demonstrations,  including  inaugurals 
of  presidents,  for  every  one  of  which  there  was  without  exception  liberal 
and  favorable  newspaper  notice,  and  the  cause  of  Indian  education  and 
civilization  and  public  confidence  therein  went  forward  at  a rapid  pace. 
On  each  of  these  occasions  the  school  band  at  the  head  of  the  column 
secured  universal  favor. 

When  the  Omaha  exposition  occurred  I found  it  impossible  to 
get  an  opportunity  to  distinctly  show  the  Carlisle  system  except  as  a 
very  small  part  of  the  limited  exhibit  made  by  the  department  to  cover 
all  Indian  schools.  The  overshadowing  Indian  illustration  at  that  ex- 
position was  what  was  called  “The  Indian  Congress,”  which  was  alleged 
to  be  intended  to  have  the  leading  Indians  from  different  tribes  come 
together  and  council  about  their  affairs,  but  which  was  really,  as  carried 
out,  a Wild  West  show  of  the  most  degenerate  sort.  An  appropriation 
given  by  congress  paid  the  Indians’  expenses  and  salary  to  leave  their 
homes,  camp  at  the  fair  and  give  daily  greatly  exaggerated  illustrations 
of  their  savage  life.  Sham  battles  were  fought  and  even  sham  burn- 
ings at  the  stake  and  scalpings  were  portrayed.  Many  of  the  young 
Indians  educated  at  the  non-reservation  schools,  some  of  them  grad- 
uates, were  hired  with  government  money  to  leave  their  homes  and 
their  farms  and  spend  months  of  their  time  at  the  exposition  in  these 

[28] 


sensational  illustrations  of  their  wild,  and,  in  many  cases,  long-  ago 
abandoned  life.  In  a book  of  photographs  gotten  out  by  the  official 
photographer  of  the  exposition  may  be  found  nine  former  students  and 
graduates  of  the  Carlisle  school,  all  painted  and  feather-bedecked  for 
the  dance.  The  effect,  if  not  the  intention  of  this,  was  to  bring  dis- 
credit upon  the  educated  Indian  and  degrade  and  deceive  the  public 
mind  in  regard  to  Indians  generally.  Of  course,  the  people  who  looked 
on  knew  nothing  of  the  Indian  Bureau’s  manipulations  to  accomplish 
its  purposes.  The  fact  that  the  government  hired  the  Indians  to  do 
this  and  paid  them  with  government  money  for  doing  it  was  never 
understood.  However,  it  was  highly  ethnological  and  scientific  and  so 
satisfied  people  of  that  sort. 

When  .the  St.  Louis  fair  was  being  arranged  I made  extra  effort, 
determined,  if  possible,  to  repeat  my  showing  at  Chicago,  but  soon 
found  that  I was  thoroughly  estopped  and  forestalled.  The  secretary 
of  the  interior  was  from  St.  Louis  and,  guided  by  the  chief  of  the 
bureau  of  ethnology,  was  determined  that  the  Carlisle  school  and  its 
principles  should  have  no  opportunities  to  illustrate  its  civilizing  and 
citizenizing  methods  and  accomplishments.  Here,  as  at  Omaha,  the 
wild  life  of  the  Indians  was  the  great  dominating  feature,  and  again 
numerous  educated  Indians  were  hired  to  give  the  examples.  Both 
the  Omaha  and  St.  Louis  expositions  were  about  as  wise  and  helpful 
performances  for  benefiting  the  Indians  as  it  would  have  been  for  the 
white  race  to  have  hired  Anglo-Saxons  to  impersonate  Adam  and  Eve 
in  the  garden  at  the  fig  leaf  period. 

The  origin  of  the  band  is  worth  noting.  In  the  summer  of  1880 
the  school  was  visited  by  Mrs.  Walter  Baker,  proprietress  of  the  Baker 
Chocolate  Company.  Things  were  crude  and  the  superintendent  had 
not  interfered  to  stop  Indian  music,  permitting  the  boys  to  have  tom- 
toms and  amuse  themselves  at  reasonable  hours  beating  their  tomtoms 
and  singing  Indian  songs.  Mrs.  Baker  desired  to  do  something  for  the 
school  that  would  be  special.  While  talking  about  it  they  heard  the 
tomtoms  and  the  boys  singing  in  their  dormitories.  The  officer  sug- 
gested to  her  that  she  give  instruments  for  a brass  band  and  he  would 
then  detail  these  tomtom  players  and  singers  to  blow  the  horns  and 
beat  the  drums,  and  that  the  civilized  music  would  soon  drive  out  the 
Indian  music,  that  he  did  not  like  to  suppress  their  own  music  until 
he  could  give  them  something  better  and  would  not  even  then  order 
the  Indian  music  to  stop  but  believed  it  would  cease  of  itself  by  this 
course.  She  sent  the  instruments.  The  wife  of  one  of  the  mechanics 
was  one  of  the  celebrated  Coleman  sisters,  cornetists,  who  had,  by  their 
skill,  attracted  attention  through  America  and  Europe.  As  soon  as 
she  heard  the  instruments  had  arrived  she  proposed  to  train  the  boys. 
The  hours  were  fixed  and  the  Indian  musicians  detailed.  Most  of  them 
knew  nothing  of  civilized  music,  and  were  yet  unable  to  speak  much 
English.  A schoolroom,  where  she  had  blackboards,  chalk  and  simple 
music,  was  provided.  She  went  to  work  and  in  three  months  reported 
that  the  band  could  play  some  simple  tunes  and  would  like  to  have 


a place  in  the  evening  dress  parades.  She  made  herself  a bloomer  cos- 
tume, was  instructed  how  to  march  back  and  forth  with  her  band  in 
front  of  the  line,  and  imrpjdiately  the  attendance  of  visitors  from  the 
town  to  witness  the  parades  was  greatly  increased.  The  music,  crude 
at  first,  improved  rapidly.  She  and  her  husband  quit  the  school  to 
travel  again  and  an  old  cavalry  band  leader,  Phil  Norman,  was  em- 
ployed, and  the  band  was  greatly  enlarged.  Later  one  of  the  Indian 
boys  who  had  grown  up  in  the  school  and  developed  unusual  musical 
ability,  Dennison  Wheelock,  became  celebrated  as  leader  of  the  band 
and  a composer  and  compiler  of  Indian  music.  After  he  left  the  school 
his  brother,  James  Wheelock,  who  had  also  grown  up  in  the  school, 
became  its  leader.  Its  prestige  during  their  leadership  reached  a high 
point.  It  continued  to  develope  until  it  reached  a total  of  sixty  instru- 
ments and  was  widely  sought  for  as  a feature  on  public  occasions  and 
for  entertainment  throughout  the  eastern  states.  Vast  crowds  gath- 
ered to  hear  it  play  on  the  various  band  stands  at  the  World’s  Fair 
in  Chicago.  At  Buffalo  it  was  employed  and  paid  by  the  fair  authori- 
ties for  a month  and  at  every  performance  attracted  a multitude  of 
listeners  and  much  favorable  notice.  The  development  of  musical 
ability  illustrated  by  the  success  of  the  band  fully  established  the  in- 
herent possession  by  the  Indian  of  a high  musical  quality.  The  school 
had  for  many  years  a most  excellent  choir  which  sang  in  all  the  school’s 
meetings.  Many  very  sweet  voices  among  the  girls  and  fine  strong 
voices  among  the  boys  were  found  and  trained  so  as  to  give  great 
satisfaction  at  every  public  entertainment. 

Another  feature  in  the  development  of  the  aesthetic  qualities  of 
the  Indian  was  the  art  of  drawing  and  painting.  The  Indian’s  native 
drawings  on  his  Buffalo  robes  and  tepees,  and  his  picture  letters,  al- 
though crude,  indicated  the  possession  of  this  art  quality  in  no  small 
degree.  Mechanical  drawing  was  introduced  in  the  later  years  of  the 
school  and  every  student  placed  under  regular  instruction  for  certain 
periods  each  week.  The  more  talented,  as  developed  by  this  system, 
were  given  special  training  and  their  qualities  enlarged  and  trained 
to  include  form,  perspective  and  color  and  it  was  found  that  in  this  as 
well  as  every  other  feature  the  Indian  possessed  in  a fair  degree  the 
refining  qualities  we  Anglo-Saxons  take  pride  in  possessing. 

Agricultural  training  was  carried  on  at  first  on  a rented  farm  ad- 
joining the  school,  then,  through  the  purchase  by  friends  of  the  school 
of  a farm  near  Middlesex,  three  miles  away,  and  later  two  farms  were 
purchased  by  the  government. 

The  twenty-seven  acres  of  the  original  Carlisle  barracks  property 
appears  b\  the  history  to  have  been  occupied  first  about  175^  as  a 
rude  fort  to  which  the  surrounding  population  might  flee  in  case  of 
attack  by  the  Indians.  The  colonial  authorities  erected  some  build- 
ings, and  in  1783,  when  Dickinson  College  was  established,  these  build- 
ings were  occupied  for  some  time  by  the  college,  and  there  was  a pre- 
liminary agreement  to  purchase  the  place  and  buildings  for  the  col- 
lege for  $20,000.  The  college  management  finally  selected  other  pro- 

[30] 


perty  on  the  west  side  of  the  town  and  the  military  feature  remained. 
In  1801  the  general  government  purchased  from  the  Penn  estate  the 
original  site  of  twenty-seven  acres  for  the  sum  of  $600.00,  to  which 
congress  added  for  the  school  in  1892  the  Parker  farm  adjoining  of  one 
hundred  and  nine  acres,  and  in  1898  the  Kuntz  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  acres,  making  a total  area  for  school  uses  of  three 
hundred  and  three  acres. 

In  the  first  and  critical  years  of  the  school  much  needed  help  came 
from  outside  sources  through  pecuniary  aid  and  great  personal  influ- 
ence of  strong  friends  at  critical  periods. 

While  with  the  prisoners  in  Florida  in  the  winter  of  ’75^8  there 
came  into  the  old  fort  a noble  man  whose  keen,  wide-awake  interest 
in  the  Indians  made  us  friends  at  once.  He  asked  many  questions, 
looked  on  as  the  teachers  taught  the  prisoners  in  their  classes,  inquired 
into  all  I was  trying  to  do  and  wanted  to  know  all  about  the  Indians, 
where  they  came  from  and  their  condition  in  their  homes,  and  then 
remarked : 

“You  are  doing  a blessed  work,  captain.” 

When  he  was  about  to  leave  the  fort  he  offered  me  a $20.00  gold 
piece  to  help  the  schools.  I told  him  there  was  no  need,  the  teachers 
gave  their  time  free  and  the  rude  benches  and  limited  supply  of  books, 
blackboards  and  equipment  were  all  that  was  really  necessary.  He  in- 
sisted, however,  and  1 then  told  him  he  might  give  it  to  the  lady  teach- 
ers to  use  in  connection  with  their  classes  and  he  then  gave  it  to  one. 
Not  long  after  he  wrote  me  from  his  home  in  New  York  and  I then 
found  our  visitor  was  Dr.  Cornelius  R.  Agnew.  Pie  continued  an 
earnest  friend  and  correspondent  until  his  death,  and  the  amount  of  en- 
couragement and  pecuniary  help  he  gave  to  Carlisle  as  well  as  secur- 
ing for  the  school  the  friendship  of  many  others  is  beyond  all  computa- 
tion. His  home  in  New  York  became  the  home  of  my  wife  and  1 on 
many  visits  to  the  city.  He  was  one  of  the  trustees  for  the  contribu- 
tions to  the  school  and  on  his  death  Mrs.  Agnew  took  his  place. 

Another  whose  unswerving  friendship  to  the  school  began  in  Flor- 
ida was  Mrs.  Joseph  Larocque  of  New  York.  During  our  last  winter 
in  Florida  she  was  there  with  her  children.  She  and  the  children  soon 
became  greatly  interested  in  the  prisoners.  The  Indians  made  beauti- 
ful bows  and  arrows  for  sale  and  by  that  means  gained  much  money. 
Mrs.  Larocque  bought  bows  for  her  children  and  then  hired  one  of  the 
young  Indians  to  teach  them  how  to  shoot,  coming  to  the  fort  daily. 
This  was  imitated  by  others  and  originated  a general  system  of  archery, 
which  brought  the  Indians  additional  money.  When  Mrs.  Larocque 
went  north  she  held  a fair  in  her  own  home  to  raise  money  for  any 
purpose  in  connection  with  what  I was  doing.  She,  her  children  and 
friends  made  articles  and  placed  them  on  sale,  realizing  something 
over  $700.00.  When  she  informed  me  what  she  had  done  and  asked 
me  what  to  do  with  the  money,  I advised  her  to  put  it  in  the  bank  for 
future  use.  She  did  this,  and  when,  a year  later,  I was  lobbying  for  a 
law  to  establish  Carlisle,  that  money  took  members  of  the  house  and 


senate  and  officers  of  the  government  to  Hampton  to  help  them  to 
understand  something  of  what  was  proposed  by  the  establishment  of 
Carlisle,  and  when  well  under  way  at  Carlisle  and  a piano  was  needed 
for  assembly  purposes,  the  balance  of  the  money  was  used  for  that. 
Mrs.  Larocque  also  became  a trustee  and  a perpetual  help  to  the  school. 

A few  days  after  the  first  party  of  children  had  reached  Carlisle  a 
Quaker  lady,  Miss  Susan  Longstreth  of  Philadelphia,  who,  with  her 
sister,  Mary  Anna,  for  fifty  years  managed  a young  ladies’  school  in 
that  city,  came  into  my  office  accompanied  by  one  of  her  former  pupils, 
Miss  Mary  H.  Brown.  I gave  them  a guide  and  they  went  all  around 
the  school  grounds.  When  they  came  back  to  the  office  they  asked 
what  I needed,  advising  I should  remember  that  I would  need  many 
things  and  “if  thee  would  receive,  thee  must  ask.”  They  insisted  on 
my  making  a list  of  the  things  then  most  necessary.  I made  a list  of 
tools  and  material  for  industrial  training  amounting  to  several  hun- 
died  dollars,  beginning  it  with  a set  of  tinner’s  tools,  machines  and 
some  material,  stating  under,  “This  is  the  only  professorship  in  this 
institution  I feel  competent  to  fill.”  I had  learned  before  the  war,  by  an 
apprenticeship  of  four  years,  the  trade  of  tinner,  coppersmith  and 
plumber.  I then  added  carpenters’,  blacksmiths’  and  shoemakers’  tools, 
a small  printing  press  and  some  type,  etc.  They  took  the  list  and  went 
off  to  a window,  and  I heard  them  saying,  “I  will  take  that,”  and  “I 
will  take  that,”  and  they  told  me  to  purchase  all  I had  placed  on  the 
list  and  they  would  send  the  money  to  pay  for  it.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  industries  of  the  school.  From  that  time  both  these 
ladies  were  a constant  help  in  every  time  of  need. 

Within  a few  months  after  the  beginning  of  the  school  \ conclud- 
ed to  turn  the  old  cavalry  stables  into  shops.  The  department  at 
Washington  was  asked  for  $1,500  for  this  purpose.  The  school  was 
then  supported  by  what  was  called  the  “Civilization  Fund,”  which  was 
not  an  appropriation  by  congress,  but  a fund  that  had  been  secured 
through  the  sale  of  Osage  lands  in  Kansas  which,  by  the  treaty  agree- 
ments, had  been  set  aside  for  any  general  use  of  the  bureau  in  civiliz- 
ing the  Indians.  It  amounted  to  several  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
As  not  only  Carlisle  but  the  schools  at  Forest  Grove  and  Hampton 
were  supported  in  the  beginning  from  this  fund,  and  congress  had 
not  yet  been  asked  to  give  the  money,  the  department  saw  these  re- 
sources disappearing  rapidly  and  the  commissioner  felt  he  could  not 
spare  the  $1,500  for  the  shops.  Dr.  Agnew,  being  familiar  with  the 
matter,  urged  me  to  come  to  New  York  and  stay  with  him  and  he 
would  give  me  letters  to  various  benevolent  persons  in  that  city  and  I 
could  make  appeals  and  get  the  money.  I had  written  to  others  in 
and  about  Philadelphia.  I went  to  New  York  and  stayed  a week  in 
Dr.  Agnew’s  family  and  daily  went  out  with  letters  he  gave  me.  It 
was  my  first  experience  in  soliciting  funds  and  I early  discovered  I 
had  little  faculty  along  that  line,  for  in  a week’s  canvassing  I secured  only 
about  $400.00.  Feeling  my  want  of  adaptation  and  that  I could  not 
longer  be  absent  from  the  school  I concluded  to  return  and  get  on  with 

[321 


such  help  as  the  government  gave.  When  I reached  Carlisle,  a Pres- 
byterian minister,  Rev.  W.  H.  Miller,  living  at  Bryn  Mawr,  who  had 
become  a friend  of  the  school  and  was  particularly  interested  in  some 
of  the  boys,  got  off  the  car  with  me  and  we  rode  out  to  the  school  to- 
gether. On  the  way  I told  him  of  my  lack  of  success  and  my  intention 
to  quit  begging.  I had  written  him  some  time  before  my  desire  for 
the  shops  and  my  failure  to  get  the  money  from  the  government.  He 
said  he  had  written  me  he  was  coming  to  Carlisle  to  get  some  letters 
of  introduction  to  different  people  at  Indian  agencies,  that  he  wanted 
to  go  West  and  see  the  Indians  in  their  homes,  and  that  he  was  on  his 
way  West  then.  After  getting  located  in  his  room  he  said  he  would 
go  out  and  hunt  up  Henry  Kendall,  a young  Pueblo  Indian,  in  whom 
he  was  interested.  As  soon  as  he  had  gone  Mrs.  Pratt  called  me  into 
the  parlor  and  handing  me  a letter  from  him,  said : 

“I  saw  by  your  face  you  knew  nothing  of  this.” 

I opened  the  letter  and  there  was  a check  for  $2,000  from  this 
minister  whose  salary  was  only  $1,200  a year.  The  letter  said:  “When 
father  died  he  left  my  share  of  the  estate  in  Tennessee  state  bonds. 
The  debt  was  repudiated  by  the  state  at  that  time  and  I have  waited 
for  years  to  come  into  possession  of  my  own.  Recently  the  state  de- 
cided to  pay  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar  and  I have  received  a part  of  what 
belongs  to  me.  I now  want  to  re-invest  it  at  once  where  it  will  bring 
me  one  thousand  per  cent,  interest.  I therefore  send  you  the  enclosed 
to  fix  up  your  shops.” 

The  foregoing  incidents  are  only  samples  of  many  others  and  are 
especially  noted  because  this  great  interest  led  to  congressional  confi- 
dence and  appropriations,  and  it  is  important  to  history  that  the  qual- 
ity of  it  be  recorded.  I could  give  the  names  of  scores  of  other  good 
people  in  this  country,  Canada  and  England,  and  the  amounts  they 
contributed,  and  many  other  equally  interesting  experiences. 

One  regret  in  connection  with  tlris  brief  history  is  the  fact  that  it 
would  consume  much  more  space  than  the  whole  paper  ought  to  cover 
to  speak  of  acts  of  generous  friends,  of  able  assistants  and  of  the 
gracious  sympathy  and  help  of  many  of  my  superiors  in  the  govern- 
ment service,  both  administrative  and  legislative. 

In  the  course  of  the  years  about  $150,000  was  contributed,  out- 
side of  government,  adding  to  the  value  of  the  government  property  in 
the  purchase  of  land,  erection  of  buildings,  putting  in  of  steam  heat, 
electric  light,  help  to  meritorious  students  to  gain  a higher  education, 
and  in  the  various  public  demonstrations  to  increase  the  interest  and 
in  making  our  commencement  occasions  a success. 

As  long  as  they  were  in  office  President  Hayes,  Secretary  Mc- 
Crary, and  Secretary  Schurz  were  all  most  helpful  in  every  way.  Con- 
ferences with  President  Hayes  and  the  two  secretaries  stimulated  me 
constantly  to  the  highest  exertion  in  carrying  out  the  work  they  had 
entrusted  to  my  care.  When  President  Garfield  came  in  I felt  great 
confidence  because  1 had  known  and  served  with  him  in  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland,  and  some  correspondence  I had  with  him  expos- 


in g post  tradership  abuses  which  occurred  during  his  congressional 
career  had  placed  me  on  a good  footing.  I called  upon  him  soon  after 
he  was  inaugurated  to  pay  my  respects  and  he  immediately  declared 
his  purpose  to  visit  Carlisle  and  bring  a number  of  the  members  of 
his  cabinet.  His  controversies  with  some  senators  held  him  in  Wash- 
ington until  the  fatal  shot.  President  Garfield  had  interest  in  the  In- 
dians because  he  had  been  officially  connected  with  the  settlement  of 
some  of  their  affairs,  and  this  added  to  his  being  distinctively  an  edu- 
cational man  made  his  loss  to  what  I was  attempting  to  do  the  more 
deplorable.  When  the  administration  of  President  Arthur  came  in  and 
I called  on  him  to  pay  my  respects,  I found  him  exceedingly  gracious, 
because  he  had  been  made  acquainted  with  my  work  by  his  and  my 
good  friend,  Dr.  Agnew.  When  he  appointed  as  his  secretary  of  the 
interior  Mr.  Teller  of  Colorado,  a western  man,  I felt  apprehensive, 
but  this  disappeared  immediately  when  I learned  to  know  Mr.  Teller. 
Mr.  Teller  visited  Carlisle  early  during  his  secretaryship  and  was  sev- 
eral times  a guest  of  the  school.  His  kindly  talks  to  the  students  and 
counsel  to  the  superintendent  were  invaluable. 

In  his  1882  report  Mr.  Teller  proposed  a system  for  the  general 
education  of  Indian  youth  by  taking  them  from  their  reservation  homes 
and  putting  them  in  contact  with  our  own  people  through  industrial 
schools  already  established  and  creating  others  in  our  best  communi- 
ties. He  stated : 

“With  liberal  appropriations  it  is  quite  possible  to  provide  for  the 
education  of  ten  thousand  Indian  youth  in  manual  labor  schools  dur- 
ing the  fiscal  year  1884,  and  at  least  twice  that  number  during  the 
fiscal  year  1885. 

The  care,  support  and  education  of  ten  thousand  Indian  youths 
during  the  fiscal  year  1884  ought  not  to  exceed  $2,500,000,  and  with  the 
increased  number  of  children  there  ought  to  be  a reduction  in  the  cost, 
and  the  expenses  of  twenty  thousand  children  ought  not  to  exceed 
$4,000,000  per  annum.  To  the  twenty  thousand  costing  annually 
$4,000,000  ought  each  year  to  be  added  not  less  than  one-fourth  that 
number,  which  at  the  same  expense  per  capita  will  necessitate  an  ad- 
ditional appropriation  of  $1,000,000  and  the  account  will  stand  thus: 


10.000  fiscal  year  1884,  computing  the  cost  at  $200  each $2,000,000 

20.000  children  fiscal  year  1885  at  $200  each 4,000,000 

25.000  children  fiscal  year  1886  at  $200  each 5>000>000 

30.000  children  fiscal  year  1887  at  $200  each 6,000,000 

25.000  children  fiscal  year  1888  at  $200  each 5,000,000 


“The  per  capita  allowance  is  greater  than  the  cost  at  the  agency 
boarding  schools,  but  these  schools  are  not  kept  up  more  than  nine  or 
ten  months,  while  this  estimate  is  for  attendance  for  the  full  calendar 
year. 

“At  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year  1887  ten  thousand  children,  having 
completed  their  school  course,  can  be  discharged,  leaving  with  the  five 
thousand  to  be  added  for  the  fiscal  year  1888  twenty-five  thousand. 
Ten  thousand  of  these  may  be  discharged  at  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year 

[34] 


i888  leaving1,  with  the  addition  of  five  thousand,  twenty  thousand  for 
the.  fiscal  year  1889;  and  every  year  thereafter  one-fourth  of  the  whole 
number  may  be  discharged  and  a like  number  added.  Thus,  at  the  end 
of  the  fiscal  year  1890  there  will  have  been  discharged  twenty  thousand 
children  who  will  be  able  to  take  care  of  and  support  themselves ; and 
the  total  expense  of  the  education  of  this  number  with  those  remain- 
ing in  school  will  not  exceed  $22,500,000,  or  about  two-thirds  of  the 
amount  of  money  expended  for  the  suppression  of  Indian  hostilities 
during  the  years  1865  and  1866. 

“Since  1872,  a period  of  ten  years,  the  cost  of  Indian  hostilities  and 
military  protection  against  the  Indian  is  estimated  by  the  military  au- 
thorities at  $223,801,254.50,  or  an  annual  expenditure  of  $22,369,126.45. 
To  this  must  be  added  the  yearly  appropriation  for  subsistence,  which 
averages  about  five  millions  a year.  To  this  must  be  added  the  loss 
of  life  and  the  horrors  of  an  Indian  war,  only  to  be  understood  by 
those  who  have  had  the  misfortune  to  be  participants  or  witnesses  of 
them.  This  cannot  be  computed  in  dollars,  but  ought  co  be  considered 
in  determining  the  policy  of  the  government  in  its  dealings  with  the 
Indians.” 

Mr.  Teller’s  proposition  was  discussed  for  three  days  in  the  senate 
and  was  championed  by  some  of  the  most  influential  senators.  Sena- 
tor Hoar  led  the  list,  but  the  grip  of  organized  greed,  the  narrowness 
of  ethnologists  and  some  organizations  which  had  been  puttering  away 
for  a couple  of  centuries  was  too  strong  for  such  a statesmanlike  pro- 
position. The  Indians  have  always  suffered  greatly  from  self-constitut- 
ed friends.  This  plan  recognized  the  fact  that  his  civilization  and  citi- 
zenship could  be  easily  accomplished  and  made  these,  as  they  ought 
always  to  have  been,  the  paramount  feature  in  the  Indian  problem. 
The  opponents  of  it  were  those  who,  for  their  own  uses,  wanted  to  keep 
the  Indian  as  he  was,  and  whose  occupations  depended  on  tribal  co- 
hesion, also  those  who  made  the  land  of  the  Indian  and  its  manipula- 
tion the  greatest  feature  of  the  problem.  The  fight  for  lands  in  severalty 
then  on  was  alleged  to  be  “emancipation”  fo  rthe  Indians,  and  in  vain 
did  those  of  ns  who  contended  for  Mr.  Teller’s  ideas  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  ownership  of  land  did  not  civilize,  that  giving  lands  in 
severalty  added  absolutely  nothing  to  the  equipment  of  the  Indian  in 
civilization  or  for  his  citizenship  and  that  having  lands  given  him  there 
was  all  the  more  need  for  his  education. 

The  “cart  before  the  horse”  principle  of  giving  the  Indians  lands 
before  we  have  equipped  them  with  the  skill  to  use  and  the  ability  and 
the  good  sense  to  hold  the  same  is  now  apparent  all  over  the  Indian 
field.  Lands  in  severalty  and  the  leasing  of  hjs  lands  bv  the  Indian 
agents  have  perpetuated  some  of  the  earlier  treaty  provisions  of  giving 
food  without  labor,  which  cultivates  worthlessness  and  opened  the 
way  for  continued  graft. 

When  Mr.  Teller  was  secretary  I was  receiving  large  donations 
of  money  to  help  along  the  Carlisle  work.  I stated  to  Mr.  Teller  that 
I did  not  like  the  responsibility  in  connection  with  it,  and  wished  that 

[35] 


I might  in  some  way  be  relieved  or  protected  and  asked  him  to  advise 
what  to  do.  He  suggested  that  as  I had  bought  a farm  with  some  of 
the  gifts  I execute  a deed  of  trust  in  favor  of  a board  of  trustees. 
General  R.  M.  Henderson,  always  our  wise  counsellor,  friend  and 
nearest  and  most  valuable  neighbor  at  Carlisle,  drew  up  such  a deed. 
The  first  trustees  were  C.  R.  Agnew  and  A.  S.  Larocque  of  New  York 
City;  Joseph  C.  McCammon,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ; Miss  Susan  Long- 
streth,  Daniel  M.  Fox,  James  E.  Rhoads  and  William  McMichael,  of 
Philadelphia;  Albert  K.  Smiley,  of  New  Paltz,  N.  Y. ; M.  C.  Thaw,  of 
Pittsburg;  Wistar  Morris,  of  Overbrook,  Pa.;  Robert  M.  Henderson, 
J.  A.  McCauley  and  R.  H.  Pratt,  of  Carlisle.  These  trustees  elected  as  a 
local  executive  committee,  Judge  Henderson,  Dr.  McCauley  and  myself, 
who  had  immediate  charge  and  audited  the  charity  accounts.  When 
Dr.  McCauley  died  the  Rev.  Dr.  Norcross  of  Carlisle,  was  elected  to 
fill  his  place  and  for  years  we  three  attended  to  the  details  of  the  trus- 
teeship. Substantial  help  came  from  all  these  trustees  and  their  suc- 
cessors. 

Hon.  H.  L.  Dawes,  senator  from  Massachusetts,  was  chairman  of 
the  Indian  committee  in  the  senate,  and  early  in  1881  wrote  showing 
great  interest  in  the  school  and  in  Indian  education  generally.  We 
corresponded  freely  during  all  the  years  thereafter,  until  after  his  re- 
tirement from  the  senate.  His  committee  room  was  my  headquarters 
whenever  I was  in  the  capitol.  He  was  constantly  seeking  information 
and  making  suggestions.  Accompanied  by  his  wife  and  daughter  he 
often  visited  the  school,  especially  on  commencement  occasions.  He 
was  in  a position  to  help  the  school  and  many  times  in  the  senate  he 
defended  it,  advanced  its  interests  and  increased  its  appropriation. 
While  there  were  others  in  both  house  and  senate  exceedingly  friendly 
and  helpful,  no  legislator  in  all  the  years  took  a more  lively  interest 
and  gave  stronger  help  than  Mr.  Dawes.  Were  it  practicable  in  this 
limited  paper  to  do  so  it  would  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  introduce 
some  of  his  letters  in  my  possession. 

Dr.  M.  B.  Anderson,  the  great  president  of  Rochester  University, 
visited  Saint  Augustine  in  the  winter  of  77-8  and  frequently  came  to 
the  old  fort  to  see  the  Indians,  the  daily  school,  and  to  talk  about 
them  and  their  interests  with  the  officer.  The  officer  urged  that  the 
Indians  only  needed  education  in  the  English  language,  and  training 
in  our  industries,  which  could  be  easily  given,  and  then  they  would  be 
able  to  quit  their  tribal  life  and  cope  with  us  in  our  affairs  and  become 
a very  part  of  our  people.  This  had  been  the  talk  of  .the  officer  for 
years  and  to  emphasize  it  he  usually  illustrated  it  by  citing  that  every 
\ ear  we  took  in  a good  many  more  low  grade  foreign  emigrants  than 
we  had  Indians  and  welcomed  them  as  a very  part  of  our  population, 
and  having  this  welcome  they  passed  out  among  us  and  were  absorbed. 
The  blacks,  numbering  more  than  thirty  times  as  many  as  the  Indians, 
and  a lower  race,  had  been  brought  from  the  torrid  zone,  and  by  be- 
ing distributed  among  us  had  forgotten  their  languages  and  habits  and 
acquired  ours.  The  officer  constantly  urged  that  the  real  disaster  to 

[36] 


the  Indian  was  the  bureau  management;  that  a like  bureau  control  for 
the  negro  or  any  one  of  the  several  races  of  foreigners  coming  to 
America  and  the  segregation  which  successful  bureau  management 
compels  would  retard  and  keep  in  perpetual  race  and  foreign  condi- 
tions the  people  so  bureauized. 

Soon  after  this  the  officer  went  to  Washington  to  see  about  the  re- 
lease of  the  prisoners,  and  Dr.  Anderson  gave  him  letters  to  General 
John  Eaton,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  and  President 
Seelve  of  Amherst  College,  who  was  then  a member  of  the  house  of 
representatives.  These  letters  made  both  of  these  eminent  men  firm 
friends  of  the  officer  during  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  President 
Seelve,  when  he  returned  to  Amherst  College,  was  especiallv  interest- 
ed in  the  Carlisle  method  of  student  government  and  by  his  careful  in- 
quiries and  approval  of  it,  and  his  subsequent  establishment  of  what 
he  called  “The  Congress,”  which  was  student  government  for  Amherst, 
indicated  that  he  had  adopted  to  some  extent  the  Carlisle  method  for 
that  great  institution. 

General  Eaton,  from  his  high  national  position  as  commissioner 
of  education,  noted  the  Carlisle  work  favorably  in  his  reports  and  be- 
came one  of  the  most  useful  and  welcome  visitors  at  every  commence- 
ment season  at  Carlisle  for  twenty  years.  On  these  occasions  he 
always  took  prominent  part  in  showing  and  explaining  the  work  of  the 
school  to  visitors.  Standing  on  a chair  or  table  with  a room  full  of 
people  in  the  schoolroom,  sloyd  department,  or  in  the  shops,  from 
his  thorough  knowledge  of  all  lines  of  practical  education,  he  made 
plain  to  bodies  of  visitors  what  was  being  done.  He  several  times 
addressed  the  school,  delivered  the  diplomas  at  graduation,  and  the 
officer  never  ceased  to  feel  grateful  to  Dr.  Anderson  for  bringing  him 
into  such  helpful  relations  with  two  such  grand  men. 

The  opponents  of  the  Carlisle  school  finally  became  prolific  in 
Sunday  newspapers  with  stories  of  its  alleged  graduates,  which  were 
false  in  every  particular,  the  names,  locations  and  acts  being  without 
any  foundation  in  fact. 

In  1897  the  Indian  Bureau,  guided  by  unusual  fairness  and 
common  sense,  required  all  Indian  agents  and  the  reservation  school 
people  to  report  upon  the  conduct  and  usefulness  of  every  student  re- 
turned from  a non-reservation  school.  This  report  showed  that  76 
per  cent,  were  doing  well.  In  1901  a still  more  exacting  investigation 
by  the  bureau  showed  that  86  per  cent,  of  such  returned  students  were 
demonstrating  that  the  non-reservation  system  was  a success.  This 
information  is  the  more  significant  because  gathered  by  reservation 
officials  not  friendly  to  the  outside  schools.  These  facts  and  full  details 
can  be  found  in  the  Indian  commissioner’s  reports  for  1898  and  1902. 

There  has  been  a proportion  of  failures,  but  a careful  investigation 
shows  as  fair  success  as  ought  to  be  anticipated.  The  most  significant 
feature  of  adverse  criticism  has  been  the  entire  absence  of  any  allegation 
that  reservation  graduates  and  graduates  of  schools  near  the  Indians 
turned  out  as  well.  A valuable  and  pertinent  official  inquiry  would  be 

[37] 


one  to  discover  what  becomes  of  the  home  school  products  and  then 
an  unbiased  comparison. 

There  are  many  other  features,  persons  and  incidents  that  call  for 
mention,  but  already  this  paper  is  too  long  and  I must  leave  them  for 
the  larger  space  of  a proposed  book.  I cannot  close,  however,  with- 
out giving  a few  general  personal  statements  and  an  expression  of 
some  views  born  of  these  experiences.  It  has  long  been  a question 
in  my  mind  as  to  whether  eleemosynary  institutions  were  really  cures 
or  builders  of  the  conditions  they  are  established  to  remedy.  Are  poor 
houses  corrective  ? Established  at  considerable  expense,  they  must 
be  kept  filled  in  order  to  justify  that  expense  and  the  employment  of 
the  necessary  keepers.  Are  not  their  privileges  too  often  greatlv 
abused?  Would  it  not  be  better  for  them  if  the  inmates  had  to  struggle 
on  as  parts  of  the  masses  instead  of  being  separated  and  sav^d  from 
the  struggle  ? Does  a system  of  taking  children  out  of  the  body  politic 
and  putting  them  in  reformatories  really  reform  ? Are  soldiers’  or- 
phan schools  a real  beneficence?  Does  separating  them  from  the  ac- 
tivities of  our  general  life  and  putting  them  into  institutions  where 
they  are  educated  and  trained  separate  and  apart  from  all  other  chil- 
dren at  the  expense  of  the  state  really  give  them  the  best  help  ? Do 
not  these  contrivances  of  our  civilization  too  often  put  the  stamp  of  de- 
pendence and  the  stigma  of  class  upon  the  individuals?  And  do  they 
not  tend  to  cultivate  in  them  the  idea  that  the  state  owes  them  a living? 

There  were  no  poor  houses  or  other  such  institutions,  except  a 
few  hospitals,  in  Japan  that  I could  hear  of  when  I was  there  nineteen 
years  ago,  but  the  energy  of  the  people  was  in  evidence  everywhere, 
and  it  seemed  impossible  to  find  a rickshaw  man  or  a coolie  who  could 
not  read  and  write.  The  public  school  and  the  home  did  the  educating 
and  the  manly  independence  and  happiness  of  the  lower  classes  seemed 
a good  example  to  our  great  America.  Even  the  blind  were  taught 
to  take  care  of  themselves.  Often  we  heard  their  doleful  whistle  and 
saw  a blind  man  or  woman  feeling  their  way  along  the  streets.  Inquiry 
developed  that  they  were  trained  masseurs  and  as  they  passed  along 
and  signaled  their  presence  by  their  whistle  they  were  called  into  homes 
to  drive  away  aches  and  pains  and  help  the  sick.  I took  treatment  of 
one  and  found  a skill  and  knowledge  of  nerves  and  muscles  and  fine 
manipulation  scarcely  equalled  by  the  best  masseurs  of  our  own  race. 
The  blind  were  at  home  with  the  people  everywhere,  and  their  afflic- 
tion did  not  operate  to  set  them  aside  as  among  us. 

Our  Indian  Bureau  system  has  for  a long  time  appeared  to  me 
a contrivance  designed  and  operated  to  keep-  the  Indians  perpetually 
apart  from  real  opportunities  and  hindered  from  becoming  a real  part 
of  our  industries  and  population.  Because  the  original  inhabitants  they 
were  sniely  entitled  to  nobler  treatment.  Having  such  poor  house 
supervision,  so  to  speak,  it  was  a natural  result  that  every  influence  of 
the  supervision  itself  should  accentuate  its  own  importance  and  per- 
petuity. Remoteness  and  hindrance  to  development  are  the  prime 

[38] 


factors  in  such  control ; therefore  all  influences  contributing1  to  this 
control  are  conserved. 

Experience  shows  that  the  very  best  contrivances  of  our  civiliza- 
tion may  be  easily  utilized  to  perpetuate  great  wrong.  Religion  and 
education,  the  crowning  forces  of  our  civilization  and  progress,  are 
easily  perverted  into  engines  of  hindering  and  wronging  peoples,  classes 
and  races. 

In  the  days  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  there  was  then,  as  now,  both 
broadness  and  narrowness  towards  the  Indians.  The  broadness  was 
in  the  people  themselves,  illustrated  in  1672  by  the  following  act: 

“For  settling  the  Indian  title  to  lands  in  this  jurisdiction  it  is  de- 
sired and  ordered  by  the  court,  and  authority  thereof,  that  what  lands 
any  of  the  Indians  in  this  jurisdiction  have  possessed  and  improved  by 
subduing  the  same,  they  have  a just  right  unto,  according  to  that  in 
Genesis  1,26  and  Chapter  IX,  1,  Psalms  CXY,  16.  And  for  the  fur- 
ther encouragement  of  the  hopeful  work  amongst  them  for  the  civiliz- 
ing and  helping  them  forward  to  Christianity,  if  any  of  the  Indians 
shall  be  brought  to  civility,  and  shall  come  amongst  the  English  to  in- 
habit in  any  of  their  plantations,  and  shall  there  live  civilly  and  orderly, 
that  such  Indians  shall  have  allotments  among  the  English,  according  to 
the  customs  of  the  English  in  like  case.” 

This  was  an  Indian  platform  which  meant  unity  and  abolished  dif- 
ference. It  was  America  and  Christianity  without  discount.  The  dis- 
count came  at  the  hands  of  the  church,  which  insisted  that  the  Indians 
should  be  in  communities  by  themselves.  John  Eliot,  working  in  op- 
position and  not  knowing  the  fact  that  the  Indians  could  learn  to  read 
and  understand  English  just  as  quickly  as  their  own  language,  trans- 
lated the  Bible  into  the  language  of  one  of  the  tribes  of  Massachusetts 
which  nobody  now  can  read,  and  established  missions  to  hold  them  to- 
gether remote  from  the  colonists,  and  thus  he  discouraged  associa- 
tion and  any  unity  of  interest.  “You  may  have  our  Christianity,  but 
you  are  not  to  be  with  us  and  of  11s,”  has  been  much  of,  but  not  always, 
the  spirit  and  method  of  the  church  among  the  Indians  of  America 
from  that  day  to  this. 

It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  then  that  Carlisle  school  early  in 
the  day  found  large  feeling  and  effort  against  its  ideas  and  purposes 
among  the  church  workers  in  Indian  communities.  A prominent  mis- 
sionary within  a few  weeks  after  the  establishment  of  Carlisle  wrote  a 
long  dissertation  to  our  greatest  educational  journal  in  which  he  ad- 
vanced his  reasons  why  Carlisle  was  not  a proper  movement  for  the 
elevation  of  the  Indians.  The  gist  of  his  argument  was  that  they  were 
only  to  be  lifted  up  in  tribal  masses ; therefore,  the  missionary  methods 
are  the  only  proper  ones.  The  Carlisle  argument  against  this  was  that 
man  is  the  unit  and  all  development  throughout  the  history  of  the 
world  has  been  and  must  continue  an  individual  process. 

Another  influence  against  Carlisle  and  its  principles  was  the  eth- 
nologists. The  then  chief  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
soon  attacked  the  purposes  of  Carlisle,  but  at  once  gave  away  the  weak- 

[39] 


ness  of  his  own  and  proved  the  truth  of  Carlisle’s  position.  He  alleged 
that  it  was  of  the  greatest  importance  that  the  origin,  history,  old  life, 
habits,  languages  and  customs  of  the  Indian  tribes  should  be  gathered 
and  recorded  by  his  bureau  before  they  were  forgotten  by  the  Indians 
and  that  if  the  Carlisle  schools  and  their  purposes  were  successful,  his 
object,  which  would  take  many  years,  could  not  be  brought  to  a suc- 
cessful accomplishment.  The  answer  of  the  superintendent  of  Carlisle 
to  that  was  John  Adams’  view  in  a letter  to  Thomas  Jefferson  on  the 
28th  of  June,  1812  : 

“Whether  serpents’  teeth  were  sown  here  and  sprung  up  men ; 
whether  men  and  women  dropped  from  the  clouds  upon  this  Atlantic 
island;  whether  the  Almighty  created  them  here,  or  whether  they  emi- 
grated from  Europe,  are  questions  of  no  moment  to  the  present  or 
future  happiness  of  man.  Neither  agriculture,  commerce,  manufac- 
tures, fisheries,  science,  literature,  taste,  religion,  morals  or  any  other 
good  will  be  promoted,  or  any  evil  averted,  by  any  discoveries  that  can 
be  made  in  answer  to  these  questions.” 

At  one  time  while  the  ethnologists  were  endeavoring  to  hinder 
the  non-reservation  school  idea  it  was  discovered  and  published  that 
nine  sons  of  government  officials,  including  the  then  commissioner  of 
Indian  affairs  and  members  of  congress,  were  employed  by  that  bureau 
in  alleged  ethnological  research  among  the  Indians  of  the  West  at  a 
genial  season  of  the  year  and  at  the  cost  for  expense  and  good  salaries 
to  the  government  appropriation  for  that  bureau.  This,  however,  was 
before  the  days  of  civil  service. 

Among  the  other  assertions  of  its  enemies  against  Carlisle  to  dis- 
credit the  school  with  the  public  and  also  to  alarm  the  Indians  have 
been  rather  persistent  allegations  that  it  was  unhealthy  and  suffered  par- 
ticularly from  tuberculosis.  The  map  illustrating  the  density  of  tubercu- 
lar areas  throughout  the  United  States  printed  in  the  last  census  report 
shows  the  Cumberland  Valley  is  one  of  the  districts  most  free  from 
that  disease  in  this  country.  If  proper  records  have  been  kept  and  are 
available  at  agencies  and  schools  the  truth  of  this  census  showing  will 
be  established  so  far  as  the  Indians  are  concerned  by  comparing  Car- 
lisle’s record  with  that  of  the  agencies  and  most  favorably  located 
schools.  That  there  is  danger  in  the  change  of  climate  and  altitude  as 
alleged  is  a myth. 

In  1879  the  number  of  Indian  children  attending  school  one  month 
or  more  during  the  year  was  7,193.  All  Indian  schools,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a very  small  number  under  the  care  of  different  churches, 
were  boarding  schools  on  reservations,  and  on  no  reservation  was  there 
anything  but  a moiety  of  accommodation  necessary  for  the  total  num- 
ber of  children.  Intelligent  and  earnest  agents,  therefore,  welcomed 
the  additional  school  privileges  offered  by  Carlisle,  Chemawa,  Haskell 
and  other  non-reservation  schools.  Some  agents  were  exceptionally 
urgent  and  friendly  to  their  young  people  going  away.  Foremost 
among  these  was  John  I).  Miles,  in  charge  of  the  Cheyennes  and 
Arapahoes,  who  at  once  sent  to  Carlisle  a large  company  of  his  best 

[40] 


children  by  Okahaton,  the  former  Florida  prisoner  whom  1 sent  after 
the  first  party,  and  Agent  Hayworth  of  the  Kiowas  and  Comanches 
also  sent  children  promptly  by  Etahdleuh.  Both  these  agents  belonged 
to  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  have  always  been  foremost  in  wise  help 
to  the  race.  Others  could  be  named,  but  these  were  the  very  first. 

Among  the  first  pupils  from  the  extreme  West  was  a party  of 
Pueblos  and  Apaches  brought  by  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson,  then  in  charge 
of  the  Presbyterian  missions  in  the  West.  For  many  years  since  he 
has  had  charge  of  government  educational  work  in  Alaska  and  many 
of  the  Carlisle  pupils  from  there  came  through  his  influence. 

The  non-reservation  schools  increased  in  numbers  and  grew  in 
importance,  and  the  intelligence  of  their  pupils  soon  began  to  interfere 
with  the  long  established  system  of  dealing  with  the  Indians  through 
interpreters.  Young  Indians  who  had  gone  to  these  schools  and 
learned  to  understand  and  speak  English  well  were  piesent  at  councils 
and  occasions  of  importance  between  their  people  and  the  government 
officials,  and  sometimes  interposed  to  give  their  people  the  true  under- 
standing where  the  old,  domineering  interpreter  had  construed  to  suit 
his  purposes  or  some  interest  which  he  served.  These  incidents  and 
results  were  not  always  welcome.  Acts  of  such  capable  students  that 
could  be  criticized  were  utilized  to  disparage  such  wider  education  for 
Indians.  On  one  occasion  the  superintendent  of  Carlisle  was  in  Wash- 
ington and  called  upon  the  secretary  of  the  interior.  It  so  happened 
the  chiefs  of  two  different  tribes  had  brought  suit  against  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  for  violation  of  treatv  agreements,  and  the 
suit  was  pending  in  the  government  court  for  such  cases  in  Washington. 
The  chiefs  had  brought  two  Carlisle  graduates  to  Washington  to  act 
as  interpreters.  The  presence  of  these  educated  Indians  was  perfectly 
legitimate  in  every  wav  and  certainly  creditable  to  their  developed 
capacity.  The  secretary  did  not  see  it  in  that  wav  and  he  indulged 
in  unreasonable  abuse  of  the  school  and  its  superintendent,  because  the 
school  turned  out  ability  of  that  sort.  The  facts  were,  the  Indian  chiefs 
were  either  right  or  wrong  in  their  contention,  and  as  they  had  perfect 
right  and  had  submitted  their  discontent  to  the  duly  constituted  court 
for  determination,  they  were  entitled  to  praise  instead  of  censure.  And 
so  in  a greater  or  less  degree  it  went  on  all  over  the  field.  Tt  was  plain 
to  be  seen  that  the  whole  bureau  and  Indian  system  was  finding  out 
it  could  only  maintain  its  domination  and  supervision  through  keeping 
the  Indian  ignorant  and  inexperienced.  This  it  could  do  in  part  by 
hindering  those  schools  which  gave  Indian  youth  the  best  education, 
ideas  and  experience  in  civilization  and  citizenship,  and  urging  that  the 
home  school,  especially  the  day  school,  which  gave  the  least  education 
and  least  experience,  was  the  best  for  the  Indians.  The  argument  was 
in  part  the  same  as  that  of  the  church,  that  the  Indians  must  become 
civilized  in  tribal  masses,  and  also  that  sepaiation  of  children  from  par- 
ents was  cruel.  The  answer  of  Carlisle  to  these  assertions  was  that 
civilization  and  citizenship  are  in  either  and  every  case  wholly  individual 
and  purely  the  result  of  environment  and  training  and  the  quality  of 

[41] 


the  environment  and  training  fixes  the  quality  of  the  result  and  that  the 
real  cruelty  was  in  keeping  them  ignorant  and  an  encumbrance  on  the 
body  politic. 

It  can  be  seen  the  whole  purpose  of  the  Carlisle  school  from  the 
beginning  was  to  make  its  pupils  equal  as  individual  parts  of  our  civili- 
zation. This  has  always  seemed  to  me  the  one  great  duty  of  the  gov- 
ernment towards  them.  Indian  schools,  as  I have  always  contended, 
should  be  temporary,  but  the  schools  which  hold  them  together  as 
tribes  and  separate  as  a people  are  obstructive  and,  therefore,  the  least 
necessary  and  should  be  dispensed  with  first.  Unquestionably  the 
great  object  to  be  aimed  at  should  be  to  have  all  Indian  youth  in  schools 
and  eventually  no  purely  Indian  schools;  then  and  then  only  is  the 
problem  of  their  proper  education  really  solved. 

In  1892  Public  Opinion  asked  me  for  a pronouncement  on  Indian 
education.  My  sentiments  at  that  time  are  a suitable  close  for  this 
paper : 

“The  kind  of  education  that  will  end  the  Indian  problem,  bv  saving 
the  Indian  to  material  usefulness  and  good  citizenship,  is  made  up  of 
four  separate  and  distinct  parts,  in  their  order  of  value  as  follows : 

“First:  Usable  knowledge  of.  the  language  of  the  country. 

“Second  : Skill  in  some  civilized  industry  that  will  enable  success- 
ful competition. 

“Third:  Courage  of  civilization  which  will  enable  abandonment  of 
the  tribe  and  successful  living  among  civilized  people. 

“Fourth:  Knowledge  of  books,  or  education  so-called. 

“In  justice  to  itself  the  government  can  have  but  one  aim  in  all  it 
may  do  for  the  Indians,  and  that  is  to  transform  them  into  worthy, 
productive  American  citizens.  The  vital  question  is,  can  the  material 
be  made  to  yield  the  desired  product? 

“The  Indian  is  a man  like  other  men.  He  has  no  innate  or  in- 
herent qualities  that  condemn  him  to  separation  from  other  men  or  to 
generations  of  slow  development.  He  can  acquire  all  the  above  quali- 
ties in  about  the  same  time  that  other  men  acquire  them,  and  is  hin- 
dered or  facilitated  in  acquiring  them  only  by  systems  and  environ- 
ment that  would  equally  hinder  or  facilitate  other  men  in  acquiring  the 
same  qualities.  If  the  Indian  has  not  had  a chance  to  acquire  these 
qualities  he  is  not  to  be  blamed  for  not  having  them.  If  he  is  not  now 
acquiring  them  as  rapidly  as  he  might  and  ought,  it  is  because  he  is 
hindered  by  the  contrivances  we  have  forced  upon  him. 

“Take  the  first  quality,  that  of  a ‘usable  knowledge  of  the  language 
of  the  countrv.’  How  is  a usable  knowledge  of  any  language  to  be 
best  and  most  quickly  learned?  Manifestly,  by  associating  with  those 
who  use  it.  All  peaple  learn  their  own  mother  tongue  in  that  way. 
Neither  books  nor  special  teachers  are  necessary.  Simply  such  associa- 
tion as  will  place  the  person  to  be  taught  where  he  can  hear  the  lan- 
guage constantly  in  use.  Wise  American  parents  desiring  their  chil- 
dren to  become  proficient  in  the  German  or  French  languages  send 
them  to  Germany  or  France  to  live  in  a German  or  French  family. 


( Why  not  then  contrive  that  the  Indian  have  this  same  opportunity  to 
learn  the  almost  universal  language  of  the  country  in  which  he  lives 
and  which  he  must  learn  in  order  to  be  at  one  with  the  great  body 
of  the  people. 

“In  doing  this  service  for  the  Indian  in  this  really  necessary  way 
1 we  come  to  the  second  and  equally  important  quality  to  be  acquired: 
‘Skill  in  some  civilized  industry  that  will  enable  successful  competition/ 
How  is  this  to  be  gained  ? The  answer  is  practically  the  same.  The 
best  agricultural  school  is  the  agriculturalist  himself  on  his  own  farm. 
If  we  want  a boy  to  become  a farmer  we  put  him  on  a farm  where 
the  daily  pressure  of  necessity  to  get  the  work  done  bears  upon  him, 
and  where  a living  and  something  more  hinges  upon  skill,  industry 
and  intelligent  management.  In  the  same  way,  if  we  want  a boy  to  be- 
come a blacksmith  or  a carpenter,  a blacksmith  shop  or  a carpenter 
shop  with  a competent  head  and  surrounded  by  competent  workmen 
is  the  place.  Working  with  the  farmer  and  mechanic  the  boy  learns 
what  a real  day’s  work  is  and  becomes  in  every  way  a very  part  of  the 
situation.  The  same  course  is  needed  if  the  boy  has  the  ability  and  is 
to  succeed  in  professional  life.  To  be  a lawyer  he  must  associate  and 
contend  with  lawyers. 

“If  the  way  to  the  acquirement  of  the  first  two  qualities  necessary 
in  the  education  of  the  Indian  is  properly  indicated  above,  then  the 
way  to  get  the  third  and  most  vital  quality  solves  itself. 

“The  courage  of  civilization,  like  the  courage  for  battle  or  any 
other  phase  of  life,  is  best  and  only  to  be  accpiired  by  experience. 

“For  the  Indian,  then,  the  language  of  civilization  is  quickest  and 
best  gained,  the  industry  and  skill  of  civilization  is  quickest  and  best 
gained,  and  the  courage  of  civilization  is  quickest  and  best  gained  by 
his  being  immersed  in  these  influences.  But  the  Indian  must  become 
individual.  The  tribes  and  all  tribalizers  and  tribalizing  influences  are 
enemies  of  the  individual,  for  immersed  in  the  tribe  how  is  the  indi- 
vidual to  take  on  successfully  anything  foreign  to  the  tribe  ? 

“Book-education  logically  comes  last.  If  a man  speaks  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country,  is  skilled  in  some  industry  of  the  country,  has 
the  courage  of  the  country,  and  practices  these  qualities,  he  is  a useful 
citizen  without  a knowledge  of  books.  The  first  are  the  foundation 
qualities.  Book-education  enlarges  and  embellishes  language  power, 
industrial  power  and  courage  power.  These  three  qualities  being  requi- 
site to  accomplish  the  transit  of  the  Indian  from  tribal  to  national  alleg- 
i iance,  the  door  of  education  must  open  wide  the  way  to  full  chance 
J for  enlarging  these  qualities  that  no  slavish  restraint  on  manhood  op- 
press and  discourage  the  ambition  to  compete  and  rise. 

"The  school,  its  aim  and  location  now  assume  importance  as  fac- 
tors. If  the  language,  industry  and  courage  of  civilization  needed  can 
best  be  gained  in  the  environment  of  civilization  in  which  the  subject 
is  to  contend,  where  shall  the  book-education  be  given?  There  is  only 
one  right  answer,  and  that  is,  let  all  the  qualities  grow  together  in  the 
\ subject.  Give  him  schools  in  the  environment  of  civilization;  but  bet- 

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ter  still,  put  him  in  civilization’s  schools.  Do  not  feed  America  to  the 
Indian,  which  is  a tribalizing  and  not  an  Americanizing  process,  but 
feed  the  Indian  to  America,  and  America  will  do  the  assimilating  and 
annihilate  the  problem.” 

All  this  an  Indian  Bureau,  willing  to  die  that  it  may  live  as  the 
benefactor  of  the  race,  can  easily  and  quickly  do  for  all  our  Indian 
youth  whenever  its  accomplishment  is  inflexibly  determined  and  direct- 
ed by  administration  and  congress. 

Denver,  Col.,  Feb.  27,  1908. 


1 


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